DeepMind’s weather predicting GraphCast wins MacRobert Award

Combining enormous data sets of past weather conditions with machine-learning algorithms, GraphCast can provide highly accurate weather predictions up to ten days in advance. Its calculations can be performed in under one minute, compared with about one hour for the supercomputers widely used for weather forecasting around the world up to this point. The technology, which DeepMind has made open source, was described in detail in research published in Science in November 2023.

According to the Royal Academy of Engineering (RAEng), which presents the MacRobert Award, GraphCast signifies a five-year leap forward in weather forecasting. By significantly improving the speed and reliability of weather predictions, the new technology has the potential to support critical decision-making across numerous industries, optimise resource allocation and help mitigate the impacts of severe weather events, potentially saving lives.

“The heroes behind the UK’s world-changing engineering innovations deserve to be celebrated, and the GraphCast team has made a revolutionary advance,” said Professor Sir Richard Friend FREng FRS, chair of the RAEng MacRobert Award judging panel.