E206 'The AI Revolution in Weather Forecasting' with UCD's Andrew Parnell

Today's guest is Andrew Parnell, Met Éireann Full Professor of Data Science for Weather and Climate at University College Dublin. In the episode, Andrew discusses how his career path took an unexpected yet impactful turn. Originally aspiring to become a banker, Andrew now works at the intersection of climate change, AI and weather forecasting. This transition reflects not only a personal journey of aligning work with purpose but also highlights the larger narrative of how AI is revolutionising weather forecasting and related fields.

Topics include:

0:00 His journey from maths to climate action; now curating collaborative research

5:06 Driven by fascination with weather, urgency in climate extremes

7:36 How AI has revolutionised weather forecasting, surpassing physics-based models

9:53 AI matches physics in paths but lags in extreme forecasting

11:03 AI connects climate data with human impact, enabling actionable insights

13:29 Balancing accessible data with meaningful human health insights remains challenging

15:26 How Climate change raises health, mental and energy efficiency concerns

17:27 Using AI weather models more efficiently can reduce carbon footprint

18:32 An insight into Met Éireann funding UCD's PhD degrees in AI weather forecasting