Google.org, Google’s philanthropic arm, has committed $5 million to advance AI-powered weather forecasting and climate research in Ireland.
At the centre of the commitment is a four-year scientific research initiative that will bring together technologies including Google Earth AI, satellite imagery and real-time local observations from a new school-based network of weather stations to be deployed across Ireland.
As part of the commitment, the AIMSIR Centre via UCD Foundation, Ireland’s first dedicated AI weather research centre, will receive €2.25 million ($2.5 million), representing Google.org’s largest-ever funded initiative in Ireland.
The funding will create the Climate+ School Weather AI Network (SWAN), delivered by the AIMSIR Centre in partnership with Met Éireann and the Climate+ Co-Centre. The project will receive further support from the Irish Schools Sustainability Network, the Irish Science Teachers’ Association, and Scoilnet, the official education portal of the Department of Education and Skills.
The initiative will deploy 560 solar-powered weather stations in schools across all 26 counties, creating a high-density network of real-time, ground-level weather observations. All the data will be freely available on the internet reporting every 1 minute, with teachers provided with training and lesson plans to ensure that students use the data to maximum effect.
Vanessa Hartley, VP and head of Google Ireland, said: “This initiative is an example of how AI can be applied to addressing a real world challenge. By bringing together Google’s technology, Ireland’s world-class research expertise and real-time observations we can explore how AI can help us better understand Ireland’s weather and better prepare for severe weather events. What makes this initiative particularly impactful is that communities across the country will play an integral role. With weather stations located in schools across Ireland, students and teachers will have the opportunity not just to learn about weather and AI, but to contribute directly to a nationwide – and potentially global – scientific initiative.”
Prof Andrew Parnell, Director of the AIMSIR Centre and Met Éireann Professor of Data Science for Climate and Weather at UCD, said: “What’s important about this project is that none of the data will be locked away. Every reading from every school, the designs for the stations themselves and the code we write to make sense of it all will be published openly and free to use. A student in Donegal will be able to see the rain falling on their own school a minute after it lands, and a student anywhere in Ireland will be able to use that same data for their own projects too.”
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