Now, Indians can find where the actual clouds are — on Google Cloud

• ClimaCell will use Google Cloud to provide critical data and weather forecasting models to Indians for free.
• Anyone can access the ClimaCell BeSpoke Atmospheric Model (CBAM) through Google Cloud’s Public Datasets.
• The CBAM uses ‘Weather of Things’ to provide high-resolution 48-hour weather forecasts.

Forecasting India’s weather has always been tricky. Weather data software company ClimaCell has partnered with Google Cloud to deliver faster weather updates with high-resolution imaging.

The partnership will open up the company’s weather forecasting models to the general public. All of its critical weather data will now be available for free.

So as long as you have an internet connection, you’ll be able to access the ClimaCell BeSpoke Atmospheric Model (CBAM) through Google Cloud’s Public Datasets under the name, ClimaCell - CBAM India Weather Forecasts.

“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,” said Shimon Elkabetz, CEO and co-founder of ClimaCell.

Weather of Things and 48-hour forecast

The Boston-based company claims that global weather forecasting models have coarse resolution and don’t update very quickly — especially when it comes to developing countries like India. However, CBAM can add millions of new weather observations at a time using its proprietary ‘Weather of Things’ inputs.

Instead of relying on satellites, Weather of Things uses everything from wireless signal to car sensors to gather data. According to the company, the data helps it improve its weather forecasting anywhere in the world.

The CBAM model uses that data to provide 2-kilometre resolution images at 15-minute intervals. This results in a 48-hour forecast.

ClimaCell hopes that the CBAM model will serve as the foundation for new environmental models to more accurately predict floods, air quality and other burgeoning issues of the decade.

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