The private sector has a huge potential role to play in achieving early warning for all by harnessing the power of Big Tech and artificial intelligence.
The World Meteorological Council will host two special dialogues dedicated to mapping the strengths and potential contribution of the private sector to early warning-related capacity gaps in Least Developed Countries (LDCs) and Small Island Developing States (SIDS) was held.
The Open Consultative Platform high-level session brought together the weather community and leading computer and mobile phone companies. Another session looked at artificial intelligence to support early warning for everyone.
“More and more big IT companies are interested in contributing to early warning for all,” said WMO Secretary-General Professor Peteri Taalas. “The challenges of natural and man-made disasters, man-made climate change and impacts on water resources need to be addressed as a public-private partnership,” he said.
The upcoming strategic plan for 2024-2027 incorporates cutting-edge elements of AI to facilitate rapid advances in science and technology. One of the key aspects under consideration is the implementation of a nowcasting pilot project, which will provide invaluable support for early warning across a range of areas, said Professor Taalas.
Laos is a landlocked least developed country facing increasingly severe flooding. WMO Permanent Representative Outson Petruancey said early warning requires robust computers and communication systems for data assimilation and transmission.
The Hydrometeorological Instruments Industry Association (HMEI) can leverage the innovation and solution-oriented approach of its members. HMEI Chair Joshua Campbell said private institutions can make a significant contribution to protecting the public interest.
Microsoft is committed to improving internet speed and accessibility to ensure reliable and timely warnings from national weather and hydrological services are delivered to web browsers and desktop platforms. Artificial intelligence and high-definition satellites can be used to map at-risk populations and assess post-disaster damage, as was the case with this year’s Turkey earthquake.
“This will strengthen national and community responses in times of disaster. Together, we can achieve more,” said Chris Sherlock, Vice President for United Nations and International Affairs. Told.
Google would like to work with the WMO in a pilot country on floods and is currently working with the Global Heat Health Information Network, co-hosted by the WMO, to learn how to cope with extreme heat, stay safe and protect yourself. I am letting people know.
“We’re seeing unprecedented progress when it comes to AI, and we’re seeing ‘Early Warnings For All’ progress,” said Yossi Matias, Google’s vice president of engineering and research.
Amazon is committed to harnessing the power of the cloud for a global early warning system. It supports the new WMO Information System 2.0 (WIS 2.0), a framework for 21st century earth system (meteorology, hydrology, climate, ocean) data sharing. Nelson Gonzalez, head of global impact computing for his services at Amazon Web, said this is based on the principle that no member should be left behind.
Meta has been providing disaster response capabilities since 2014, serving millions of people in crisis-affected communities in 125 countries. Kaushik Seturaman, program director for social impact at Meta, said it provides safety alerts, crisis pages, community help, and information from first responders and nonprofit fundraisers.
Alibaba leverages cloud innovation and AI to support disaster prevention and mitigation, especially in Asia. For example, helping recall fishing boats during typhoon weather, cleaning up rivers during flood season, and promoting city safety.
“We join WMO and Early Warnings For All, and together we are committed to saving more lives for the benefit of mankind,” said Ye Huang, European General Manager of Alibaba Cloud Intelligence.
The GSMA is the global organization that unites the mobile ecosystem. With 95% of the world’s population covered by mobile networks, there are 5.4 billion unique mobile subscribers worldwide. According to Ms Kimberly Brown, head of the GSMA’s Mobile for Humanitarian Innovation, Mobile for Development division, the GSMA will engage mobile network operators around the world to ensure that everyone around the world is in early He said he welcomed the association’s opportunity to help realize EW4ALL’s ambition to be protected by an alarm system. This is to ensure that countries around the world, especially the countries covered by the initiative, can participate in efforts at the national level.
AI and machine learning
Dr. Elena Sopraki, Head of the Climatology, Climate Dynamics and Climate Change Group at Justus Liebig University and Vice Chair of the ITU/WMO/UNEP Focus Group on AI and Natural Disaster Management, said: increase. Changing field needs and priorities.
“Our goal is to support the Early Warnings for All initiative, particularly in vulnerable areas and climate change hotspots. We will expand our scientific efforts with targeted research on sexuality,” she said. The new Horizon Europe project MedEWSa (Prediction and Early Warning System for Mediterranean and Pan-European Natural Hazards) is a new initiative to ensure timely, accurate and actionable impact and financial forecasts of natural disasters and extreme weather events. We provide solutions.
ECMWF Executive Director Florence Rabie said machine learning has significant participation from commercial organizations.
Machine learning and AI “bring great opportunities for developing countries as they do not require large supercomputers. It gives us the opportunity to work together,” she said.
EUMETSAT aims to provide the highest data quality and takes a forward-looking approach to understanding future needs. We recognize the importance of AI and machine learning, and their evolution influences our strategic decisions. Machine learning plays a key role in improving nowcasting and short-term forecasting. EUMETSAT principal investigator Paolo Luti says that this will enable automatic feature detection, offering diverse applications such as air quality assessment.
“Collaboration is certainly essential, but agility must also be a priority if the entire community is to effectively serve its residents,” he said.
