What you need to know
- Google is teaming up with weather forecaster firm ClimaCell to help bring free access to high-quality forecast data in India.
- Google Cloud's Public data sets will house ClimaCell's prediction data, allowing members of the public to access and make use of it.
- The program begins first in India and will roll out later to other regions.
Google and ClimaCell are teaming up to provide access to high fidelity weather forecasting models in regions that don't currently have them.
ClimaCell is starting its service rollout in India with plans to expand to more regions over time. In this region, members of the general public (like developers and business owners) will be able to make use of the Google Cloud's public dataset program to access ClimaCell's forecasts. They'll be able to use this data to build apps and services that surface this information in a user-friendly way, especially vital for India and its many weather-sensitive industries.
Aside from that, ClimaCell will also leverage the Google Cloud Platform for cloud computing to help in processing. The firm's weather prediction model is resource-heavy, and the extremely flexible and scalable Google Cloud is more than fit for their purpose.
As for how reliable these forecasts are, while you probably haven't heard of them personally, ClimaCell's technology is used by well-known companies like Delta and JetBlue to aid in navigation.
Shimon Elkabetz, CEO and Co-Founder of ClimaCell said:
For the first time in history, a private company is offering a full-blown operational numerical weather prediction model for an entire country, working continuously and providing high-resolution forecasts for up to 48 hours ahead. Not only is it an historical milestone, we are providing it completely free of charge. We invite others to join us in making weather data free and accessible for everyone.
