π Science and technology

How revolutionary AI and satellites are changing weather predictions

3 episodes

Épisode 1/3

New observation systems for better weather forecasting

On April 19th, 2023

4 min reading time

Pierre Tabary

Deputy Director of Operations at the Direction des Opérations pour la Prévision (DirOP) of Météo France

The first weather observation systems were based on ground-level observations.
Soon after, meteorologists introduced remote sensing, with radars emitting electromagnetic waves, for observations at altitude.
Observations are also made by satellites, which can be polar-orbiting or geostationary.
The number of meteorological satellites has increased significantly in recent years and ambitious European programmes have been launched.
There are also timely-based observations from infrastructures that were not designed for atmospheric measurements, such as telephone networks.

Épisode 2/3

On March 29th, 2023

3 min reading time

Sébastien Léas

weather forecaster at Météo-France

In 2030, Third Generation Meteosats (TGM) will be launched to enable better identification of weather phenomena.
Their images will be twice as accurate and reliable than previous versions, being refreshed every 10 minutes.
MTGs can detect extreme weather events, which will become increasingly frequent due to climate change.
These satellites will use 100 times more data than the second generation.
They will be able to create multispectral images, condensing observations from different satellite channels.

Épisode 3/3

On April 5th, 2023

4 min reading time

Samuel Morin

Director of Centre national de recherches météorologiques (CNRM)

Weather forecasting uses simulation models of the atmosphere on different scales.
Arome and Arpège are two meteorological models used by Météo-France to simulate the atmosphere of metropolitan France and the entire planet, respectively.
To process the results of the simulations, the CNRM is increasingly using artificial intelligence (AI).
The reduction of the spatial scale makes it possible to refine the forecasts, as it represents phenomena that can be resolved on a smaller scale.
Scientific and technological advances allow us to distinguish smaller and smaller meteorological objects: this is crucial for improving the forecasting of the atmosphere and its evolution.