DeepMind’s GenCast: AI Takes the Weather by Storm

Google DeepMind launched GenCast, an AI marvel trained on 40 years of weather data (1979-2018), outperforming ECMWF’s ENS 97.2% of the time for 15-day forecasts—all in eight minutes on a single TPU v5. Excelling at predicting extreme events like cyclones, GenCast boosts renewable energy planning via better wind forecasts. While it edges out predecessors like GraphCast, challenges remain in cyclone intensity predictions. Accessible through Google Earth Engine, GenCast is reshaping meteorology with a sprinkle of AI magic.