Google DeepMind has introduced GenCast, an artificial intelligence (AI) model that surpasses traditional methods in forecasting weather up to 15 days in advance and excels in predicting extreme events.
GenCast employs a probabilistic approach, generating multiple scenarios to accurately project trends such as wind power production and tropical cyclone trajectories.
Trained on four decades of data from the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF), it outperformed ECMWF's 15-day forecasts on 97.2% of 1,320 variables, including temperature, wind speed, and humidity.
Notably, GenCast produces forecasts in just eight minutes, significantly faster than traditional models.
The ECMWF has acknowledged GenCast as a significant advancement in weather forecasting and has integrated key components into its own AI systems.