Chinese AI systems speed forecasts, cut costs, improve typhoon preparedness
AI is speeding up weather predictions and cutting costs, with Chinese systems like Fengwu, Pangu, and Fuxi crunching huge amounts of data to deliver precise forecasts in a fraction of the time.
These tools have been especially helpful during East Asia's typhoon season, improving flood prep and evacuation plans.
Still, experts say AI will work alongside traditional forecasting, not replace it.
Fengwu outperforms GraphCast, accurate yet limited
Fengwu has outperformed Google's GraphCast in most weather variables and can predict events over 10 days ahead.
It nailed Typhoon Dolphin's landfall five days early, missing by just 30 minutes and 30km.
But AI still struggles with storm intensity and big climate patterns like El Nino.
As Sun Zhi, CTO of Techwind, puts it: "We need to do years of scientific research before people trust us when we say there will be an El Nino event or we say the changing temperature on the sea's surface will affect the breeding cycle of fish."