IBM and Nasa have announced plans to work on a new artificial weather model to understand more about climate change and predict future weather events with greater accuracy.
The model will go beyond traditional forecasting and could solve larger climate challenges, while also improving the precision and speed of forecasts, the US company claims.
The announcement comes amid a rapid rise in AI-related weather research from various companies and agencies. IBM said its foundation model, compared with other efforts, incorporates the physics behind forecasting.
“This foundation model will go beyond forecasting to solve larger climate challenges, along the way promising improvements in precision, speed and cost-effectiveness,” IBM said.
Saad Toma, general manager for IBM Middle East and Africa said: “Foundation models, which are trained on geospatial information such as satellite images, present a unique opportunity to address climate change because unlike traditional AI models tailored for specialised tasks, geospatial foundation models – encompassing satellite and weather data – create knowledge representations from petabytes and exabytes of climate-relevant data that can accelerated and streamlined discovery of environmental insights and solutions.”
US author Parag Khanna reflected on overall AI efforts in the meteorological and climatology space amid the IBM announcement.
Mr Khanna’s company Climate Alpha, works with AI-powered analytics to navigate “climate volatility” and future-proof global investment.
“They’re extremely useful [AI models] for localised short-term resilience measures – early warning systems for example, and also managing crop planting patterns, or the volatility of monsoons, all of these things, it’s better to know than not to know for responding and reacting,” he said.
IBM's climate-related weather partnership with Nasa comes as the much-anticipated Cop28 climate conference gets under way in Dubai, with various companies, agencies and NGOs seeking to leave their mark amid government efforts to solve the climate crisis.
More than 97,000 delegates have registered for Cop28, and more than 400,000 people overall are expected to take part in the conference in Dubai, according to organisers.
AI has been seen by some as a potential way to help identify climate solutions, while others have taken a more cautious approach to the fast-evolving AI landscape.
In October, at the World Economic Forum’s Global Future Councils annual meeting, Stuart Russell, professor of computer science at the University of California, Berkeley, cautioned against banking all climate hopes on AI.
“It might help around the edges,” he said. “But the climate is really a collective action problem. We know what to do but we’re not doing it.”
IBM said it will also be collaborating with Mohamed Bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence (MBZUAI) in Abu Dhabi, the world's first university to have a singular focus on AI, to use IBM's geospatial AI technology to analyse urban heat islands in the UAE.
The Urban Heat Islands Effect is a phenomenon in which cities become hotter than the natural landscape that surrounds them, which in turn, can have a significant effect on the sustainability of communities.
IBM and MBZUAI’s efforts will attempt to apply foundation models to the mapping of such heat islands and better understand their formation, according to IBM.
“This first-of-a-kind research specifically applies a fine-tuned version of IBM’s geospatial foundation model to understand the urban environment in Abu Dhabi and how the underlying landscape in the UAE impacts the formation of urban heat islands,” it said.
Navdeep Suri, India's Ambassador to the UAE
There has been a longstanding need from the Indian community to have a religious premises where they can practise their beliefs. Currently there is a very, very small temple in Bur Dubai and the community has outgrown this. So this will be a major temple and open to all denominations and a place should reflect India’s diversity.
It fits so well into the UAE’s own commitment to tolerance and pluralism and coming in the year of tolerance gives it that extra dimension.
What we will see on April 20 is the foundation ceremony and we expect a pretty broad cross section of the Indian community to be present, both from the UAE and abroad. The Hindu group that is building the temple will have their holiest leader attending – and we expect very senior representation from the leadership of the UAE.
When the designs were taken to the leadership, there were two clear options. There was a New Jersey model with a rectangular structure with the temple recessed inside so it was not too visible from the outside and another was the Neasden temple in London with the spires in its classical shape. And they said: look we said we wanted a temple so it should look like a temple. So this should be a classical style temple in all its glory.
It is beautifully located - 30 minutes outside of Abu Dhabi and barely 45 minutes to Dubai so it serves the needs of both communities.
This is going to be the big temple where I expect people to come from across the country at major festivals and occasions.
It is hugely important – it will take a couple of years to complete given the scale. It is going to be remarkable and will contribute something not just to the landscape in terms of visual architecture but also to the ethos. Here will be a real representation of UAE’s pluralism.
The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre V8 twin-turbocharged and three electric motors
Power: Combined output 920hp
Torque: 730Nm at 4,000-7,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed dual-clutch automatic
Fuel consumption: 11.2L/100km
On sale: Now, deliveries expected later in 2025
Price: expected to start at Dh1,432,000
Volvo ES90 Specs
Engine: Electric single motor (96kW), twin motor (106kW) and twin motor performance (106kW)
Power: 333hp, 449hp, 680hp
Torque: 480Nm, 670Nm, 870Nm
On sale: Later in 2025 or early 2026, depending on region
Price: Exact regional pricing TBA
The%20specs
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EEngine%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Dual%20synchronous%20electric%20motors%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPower%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E660hp%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETorque%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E1%2C100Nm%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETransmission%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ESingle-speed%20automatic%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETouring%20range%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E488km-560km%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPrice%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EFrom%20Dh850%2C000%20(estimate)%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EOn%20sale%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EOctober%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
What sanctions would be reimposed?
Under ‘snapback’, measures imposed on Iran by the UN Security Council in six resolutions would be restored, including:
- An arms embargo
- A ban on uranium enrichment and reprocessing
- A ban on launches and other activities with ballistic missiles capable of delivering nuclear weapons, as well as ballistic missile technology transfer and technical assistance
- A targeted global asset freeze and travel ban on Iranian individuals and entities
- Authorisation for countries to inspect Iran Air Cargo and Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines cargoes for banned goods
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
MATCH INFO
Karnataka Tuskers 110-5 (10 ovs)
Tharanga 48, Shafiq 34, Rampaul 2-16
Delhi Bulls 91-8 (10 ovs)
Mathews 31, Rimmington 3-28
Karnataka Tuskers win by 19 runs
The specs
Engine: 3.0-litre six-cylinder turbo
Power: 398hp from 5,250rpm
Torque: 580Nm at 1,900-4,800rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Fuel economy, combined: 6.5L/100km
On sale: December
Price: From Dh330,000 (estimate)
AI traffic lights to ease congestion at seven points to Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Street
The seven points are:
Shakhbout bin Sultan Street
Dhafeer Street
Hadbat Al Ghubainah Street (outbound)
Salama bint Butti Street
Al Dhafra Street
Rabdan Street
Umm Yifina Street exit (inbound)
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
