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Sky News
3 days ago
- Climate
- Sky News
Longer term weather forecasts could get more accurate - thanks to the cloud
The Met Office has transferred to a new off-site supercomputer - which could make 14-day forecasts as accurate as seven-day equivalents. Operating using Microsoft's cloud-based Azure system, the new computer could also help predict extreme weather further in advance and advance climate research. The weather agency used its first supercomputer 60 years ago, but until now it has almost always been run on site. For more than a month, Azure has been running off-site simultaneously with the Met Office's previous supercomputer, which has now been switched off. Chief executive officer Penny Endersby said on the agency's website that "a big change like this is like changing the engines when you're flying over the Atlantic" - noting that the new computer had already been running in parallel with its old system for more than a month. "You can never have a stop, which is why we did the long parallel run with the old supercomputer," she added. "So, success at this phase is that nobody can tell the difference." Charles Ewen, the weather agency's chief information officer, said the Met Office uses numerical weather prediction "to predict the future state of the atmosphere" which "takes the laws of physics that are fairly well understood and applies them at scale". He added: "To do that is very, very computationally expensive. It's simulating the future state of the atmosphere. "Operationally, that's 200 to 300 terabytes of information a day." Using Azure, he said the Met Office will be able to start fresh projects without having to build new infrastructure. Segolene Berthou, head of a research team working on the Met Office's environmental prediction capabilities, added that the supercomputer will also allow for a model to be run several times with slightly different parameters. "The coupled system we're preparing is running faster and more smoothly on the new supercomputer," she said.
Daily Mirror
23-05-2025
- Climate
- Daily Mirror
45 counties to be scorched in 27C 'mini heatwave' coming in days
A wave of searing heat is predicted for the end of May and start of June across the country, allowing Brits to gather in flocks to enjoy the blue skies and sunshine Temperatures in the UK are set to rise to an impressive 27C, with red weather maps showing a ' mini-heatwave ' as 45 counties are predicted to hit at least 23C over the coming days. The news comes as the Environment Agency claims the country has experienced the driest start to spring in nearly 70 years, causing wildlife in country parks to desperately scramble for water and farmers to struggle with dry fields. The maps predict a wave of scorching heat in the end of May and beginning of June, reaching peaks of 27C in the southeast of England. However, areas as far north as North Yorkshire and North Lincolnshire could see the mercury rise to at least 23C, among 43 other counties across England and Wales. Among the areas set to be sizzling are London and the southeast of England, as dark red sections of maps predict rocketing temperatures of 27C on May 31. The same temperature is expected to run north though Nottinghamshire to West Yorkshire, affecting York and Harrogate in North Yorkshire too. A brief break from the heat is predicted on June 1, through the capital will stay at 27C at the height of the day, meaning commuters in the capital should be wary of the intense heat. While exact temperatures are not currently forecasted by the Met Office, it was revealed on Wednesday that a new £1.2bn supercomputer capable of making more accurate forecasts would soon come into use. The innovative technology will reportedly be able to carry out quadrillions of calculations every second. Chief information officer for the Met Office Charles Ewen said: "People ask how a bigger computer improves the weather forecast. "One big thing this new computer will allow us to do in the near future is to be able to produce 14-day forecasts with a similar kind of accuracy than we can today for seven, eight, nine days." The long-range forecast between May 25 and June 3, from the Met Office says humid weather can be expected throughout the period, though things may look wetter for those in the west of the British Isles. It states: "A much more unsettled period than of late with the whole of the UK likely to see showers or some longer spells of rain, but also some drier and brighter interludes. For Sunday and Bank Holiday Monday it's likely a story of sunshine and showers. "The showers will be heavier and more frequent in the west where it may also be windy, especially across the northwest. The east, especially the southeast may well see a good deal of dry weather. "The rest of the week then sees further frontal systems run into the UK, bringing more widespread rain at times, but again some drier spells in-between these. Temperatures will probably be close to average, perhaps slightly above at times, but will feel fairly cool in the often strong winds." Full list of UK counties set to rise to at least 23C or higher: ENGLAND: Kent East Sussex West Sussex Hampshire Dorset Somerset Wiltshire Berkshire Surrey Greater London Essex Hertfordshire Buckinghamshire Oxfordshire Gloucestershire Herefordshire Shropshire Cheshire Staffordshire Worcestershire Warwickshire Northamptonshire Bedfordshire Cambridgeshire Suffolk Norfolk Leicestershire Derbyshire Nottinghamshire Merseyside Greater Manchester South Yorkshire West Yorkshire Lincolnshire North Lincolnshire North East Lincolnshire Kingston upon Hull East Riding of Yorkshire North Yorkshire Lancashire WALES: Flintshire Denbighshire Powys Wrexham Monmouthshire
Wales Online
21-05-2025
- Climate
- Wales Online
Met Office supercomputer gives 14-day weather forecast more accurate than ever
Met Office supercomputer gives 14-day weather forecast more accurate than ever The new system can perform 60 quadrillion calculations per second, and was launched on Monday The latest weather maps for the early hours of Sunday morning (May 25) show the majority of Wales covered with a band of heavy rain (Image: Met Office ) Better weather forecasts are on the way, the Met Office says, thanks to its new 'supercomputer', which will detail estimates up to two weeks in advance. The new system can perform 60 quadrillion calculations per second, and was launched on Monday. It is expected to make rainfall predictions more accurate, and has been described as "the world's first cloud-based supercomputer dedicated to weather and climate science." It will be the first the Met Office will not be running itself, as it will be operated by Microsoft's Azure. For our free daily briefing on the biggest issues facing the nation, sign up to the Wales Matters newsletter here . Azure cloud computing service is one of the largest providers of data centres in the world. Met Office's science director, Professor Simon Vosper, said: "There's never been a more critical time for weather and climate intelligence. "We know the climate's changing, as we know the risks of hazardous weather. Article continues below "The supercomputer will unlock our ability to deliver those improved services where they're needed." Among its benefits, the technology, powered by renewable energy, is expected to improve forecasts at airports. And it will also improve predictions around ongoing challenges caused by climate change, such as flooding and wildfires. The new technology can perform more than four times the number of calculations per second than its predecessor, containing 1.8m core processors. It is physically located in the south of England and is split across two data centres. Charles Ewen is the Met Office's chief information officer. Article continues below He said: "I'm very confident the Met Office is best placed in the world to be able to accommodate at scale emerging methods and techniques such as artificial intelligence." You can read the Met Office's forecast for Wales from Wednesday into Sunday by clicking here.
The Independent
20-05-2025
- Climate
- The Independent
UK weather forecasts become ‘more accurate' after Met Office upgrade
The Met Office has upgraded to a new supercomputer, which could make 14-day forecasts nearly as accurate as seven-day forecasts. Forecasters hope the supercomputer, operated by Microsoft's cloud-based system called Azure, will predict extreme weather events further in advance and help to advance climate research across the world. For more than a month, Azure was running off-site simultaneously with the Met Office 's previous supercomputer, which has now been switched off. Charles Ewen, the Met Office's chief information officer, said: 'People ask how a bigger computer improves the weather forecast. 'One big thing this new computer will allow us to do in the near future is to be able to produce 14-day forecasts with a similar kind of accuracy than we can today for seven, eight, nine days.' The weather agency used its first supercomputer 60 years ago, and until now, they have almost always been run on site. Azure will allow the Met Office to start fresh projects without having to build new infrastructure, he added. He said: 'We use a technique to predict the future state of the atmosphere called numerical weather prediction. 'So that takes the laws of physics that are fairly well understood and applies them at scale to observations of the current state of the atmosphere. 'To do that is very, very computationally expensive. It's simulating the future state of the atmosphere. Operationally, that's 200 to 300 terabytes of information a day.' Segolene Berthou, who leads a team of researchers working on the Met Office's environmental prediction capabilities, said the supercomputer will permit researchers to run a model several times with slightly different parameters. 'That will give us quite a large variety of forecasts because of the chaotic nature of the atmosphere, and that can help us capture the extremes with more days in advance,' she explained. 'The coupled system we're preparing is running faster and more smoothly on the new supercomputer. 'This is very good news because it means we can now be even more confident in our climate projections and have longer slices of time running this model.' A cloud system will make it easier for others to use the Met Office's backlog of data for climate research, the weather service said. Forecasters are also hoping Azure will allow them to adapt its use of artificial intelligence, however, they are not yet sure how the supercomputer will be augmented with machine learning. The Met Office has funded some of its researchers to start advanced degrees in machine learning and has offered a training programme on the subject. Simon Vosper, its science director, said: 'We have huge increases in capacity, which will enable us to take our science forward. 'With the new Azure-based capability, we'll be enhancing resolution, running many more models and introducing new scientific complexity.' The weather agency said: 'Met Office forecasts are used in aviation, defence, critical infrastructure, and shipping, as well as for predicting storms, floods, and gauging if Sunday will be suitable for a barbecue. 'The decision to entrust that critical work to an outside institution like Microsoft came only after a long process, informed by its own expertise in technology.'
Daily Record
20-05-2025
- Business
- Daily Record
UK weather forecasts will now be more accurate after Met Office develops supercomputer
The Met Office has announced that it will now be able to create more accurate weather forecasts for the UK, thanks to the development of a new supercomputer. We can expect detailed weather estimates up to 14 days in advance, and rainfall predictions will also become more accurate. The new computer was launched on Monday, May 19, and uses Microsoft 's cloud-based Azure system, becoming the first Met Office computer that doesn't run by itself. The new piece of tech can perform 60 quadrillion calculations per second, and has been set up in a secret location. It was announced way back in 2020 that the supercomputer was being developed, and it was initially meant to launch in 2022. This three-year delay was caused by the Covid pandemic and its impact on the availability of silicon, said the Met Office. The weather prediction agency has stated that this new machine marks the world's first cloud-based supercomputer which is dedicated specifically to climate science. The Met Office also says that the new computer will improve forecasting at airports. It could also give the energy sector more detailed information to help it plan for potential blackouts and surges. This may become useful as Nasa has warned of huge oncoming solar eruptions that will occur as the Sun's most active region turns to face Earth. The gadget is fully powered by renewable energy. It will also improve predictions on extreme weather and natural disasters caused by climate change such as flooding and wildfires, reported the BBC. Containing 1.8million core processors, the new piece of tech can perform more than four times the number of calculations per second than the Met Office's previous computer. In February 2020, the UK government pledged £1.2billion for the project, and said the old supercomputers would reach the end of their lives in 2022. The exact location of the machine is to remain a secret, but is somewhere in the south of England, split across two data centres. The Met Office's chief information officer Charles Ewen is concerned about cyber security following recent hacks of British companies such as M&S and Co-op. But Ewen said he is happy with the security of the new system and is "very confident this is a big enhancement" on its predecessor. He added that he is confident in the Met Office's abilities to be able to accommodate new technology and techniques such as artificial intelligence. Prof Simon Vosper, the Met Office's science director added: "There's never been a more critical time for weather and climate intelligence. "We know the climate's changing, as we know the risks of hazardous weather. "The supercomputer will unlock our ability to deliver those improved services where they're needed."
