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Weather forecasting drives billions of economic decisions — from grid operations to evacuation planning. Better forecasting could improve supply chain planning, disaster warnings, and renewable integration. The industry has decades of satellite observations and ground measurements, making it ripe for AI-driven advancements.

And it’s already happening. But how exactly does AI get used in weather forecasting, and how does it actually lead to improvements?

In this episode, Shayle talks to Peter Battaglia, senior director of research at Google DeepMind’s sustainability program, which launched a new AI-powered weather forecasting model in November 2025. They cover topics like:

Why precipitation is so much harder to predict than temperature 

How the weather industry works, with governments creating global models and private companies refining them for specific use cases

What AI models can see that traditional supercomputer simulations can’t

Novel sources of data like cell phones, door bells, and social media

Resources:

Latitude Media: Where are we on using AI to predict the weather?  

Latitude Media: Could AI-fueled weather forecasts boost renewable energy production?  

Catalyst: Specialized AI brains for physical industry  

Credits: Hosted by Shayle Kann. Produced and edited by Daniel Woldorff. Original music and engineering by Sean Marquand. Stephen Lacey is our executive editor. 

Catalyst is brought to you by Uplight. Uplight activates energy customers and their connected devices to generate, shift, and save energy—improving grid resilience and energy affordability while accelerating decarbonization. Learn how Uplight is helping utilities unlock flexible load at scale at uplight.com.

Catalyst is brought to you by Antenna Group, the public relations and strategic marketing agency of choice for climate, energy, and infrastructure leaders. If you're a startup, investor, or global corporation that's looking to tell your climate story, demonstrate your impact, or accelerate your growth, Antenna Group's team of industry insiders is ready to help. Learn more at antennagroup.com.