Using NASA data to speed up the weather forecast

Swiss researchers have completed the copying of publicly available climate and environmental data collected by NASA, marking a major step forward in developing faster weather prediction models. The data, which includes key information about Earth’s systems such as greenhouse gases, clouds, precipitation, and ice sheets, will be stored on servers managed by the Swiss National Supercomputing Centre (CSCS) in Lugano. The transfer, which took nearly one year, involved copying around 100 petabytes of data, equivalent to approximately six billion files or the storage capacity of 20 million full-length movies, according to Professor Reto Knutti, a climatologist at ETH Zurich. The data, gathered over several decades by NASA, has been used to train artificial intelligence models aimed at providing rapid and reliable forecasts of weather patterns, climate changes, and natural disasters. Knutti explained that modern predictive models based on large datasets have surpassed traditional models that rely on physical equations to simulate complex oceanic and atmospheric processes. These newer models can now generate global five-day weather forecasts in about a minute, a feat previously considered impossible. This advancement could save lives by enabling better preparedness for extreme weather events such as floods, storms, and landslides. Such predictions are particularly crucial for agriculture, hydroelectric power generation, and disaster response efforts. Researchers plan to expand their work by copying additional data from the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) database. This decision follows concerns over declining funding for climate science in the United States. Professor Knutti noted that while the U.S. government has not yet restricted access to its data, decisions regarding public access can change rapidly. He pointed out that former NASA chief Thomas Zurbuchen, who recently returned to his position, has expressed concern over the administration's tendency to cut federal funding for climate research and Earth observation programs. President Donald Trump, since his return to office last year, has advocated for significantly reducing federal spending on climate science and monitoring initiatives. In Slovenia, heatwaves have broken records in recent days. On Sunday, new temperature highs were recorded in Koper and the Lake District. At Markovc in Koper, temperatures reached 40.1 degrees Celsius, while in the Lake District they peaked at 34.3 degrees. The hot spell is moving eastward, with record-breaking temperatures expected in the coming days in areas near Ars. A red warning for heat will be in effect for much of the country starting Monday.