ATLANTA, July 21, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- The Weather
Company, an IBM (NYSE: IBM) Business, announced today they
will leverage one of the largest Internet of Things (IoT) platforms
in the world to provide critical weather data to millions of people
in currently underserved areas. With severe weather statistically
occurring more frequently, governments and businesses are seeking
supplemental weather data to better prepare for impending
disasters.
For the period 2010-2015, severe weather events caused more than
$100 billion in damage in the U.S.,
where modern warning systems exist, according to the National
Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Even more concerning
is the fact that 70 developing countries lack robust early warning
systems, exposing citizens to potentially life-threatening
disasters. On a global scale, The World Bank reports that over the
past 30 years, natural disasters, which include severe weather,
have taken an estimated 2.5 million lives and cost more than
US$4 trillion.
To address these challenges, in 2001 Weather Underground (WU), a
subsidiary of The Weather Company, developed the Personal Weather
Station (PWS) Network. With over 200,000 stations in 195
countries, this network enables The Weather Company to provide
hyperlocal forecasts to millions around the world with
unprecedented accuracy. Each station is equipped with multiple
sensors for detecting barometric pressure, humidity, temperature,
wind speed and direction, and other factors. Greater personal
weather station data leads to more precise and enhanced forecasts,
which can help governments and communities better anticipate and
act on weather conditions.
"The Weather Company's weather forecasting strength is based on
more than 160 weather models and the expertise of more than 150
meteorologists to produce the most precise and accurate forecasts
available," said Mary Glackin, head of science & forecast
operation, and senior vice president for public-private
partnerships, The Weather Company. "We are committed to continuing
to improve the accuracy of our forecast and working in concert with
national meteorological services toward our goal of providing every
person on the planet with the weather forecast information they
need to be safe and prepared in the face of weather. As our climate
continues to change, our mission will become even more
critical."
To improve the availability of such data, Weather Underground is
collaborating with various local meteorological and government
organizations to provide 100 personal weather stations where
they may be most beneficial based on population density, web
connectivity, current infrastructure gaps, and exposure to unique
severe weather challenges. With this criteria in mind and as
part of IBM's philanthropic Smarter Cities Challenge program,
Santiago, Chile and Vizag,
India will be among the first
cities in the program to receive personal weather station
donations. These stations will help city leaders and citizens
better prepare and respond to emergency events, including
weather-related natural disasters such as flash flooding,
landslides, extreme drought and heat. As the network is
expanded into these areas, the data will augment official
infrastructures, and combined with severe weather warnings and
alerts issued by national meteorological agencies, will help
communities takes measures to remain safe during hazardous or
life-threatening weather.
"Because of its location, Santiago is vulnerable to a number of natural
disasters. The combination of having Weather Underground's personal
weather stations installed throughout the city and having access to
IBM experts in data and analytics through the Smarter Cities
Challenge, will not only help improve local weather forecasts on an
everyday basis but will help us to better predict a potential
emergency situation and react in real time," said Claudio Orrego, the chief executive of the
Santiago metropolitan region.
Helping Underserved Areas with
Watson and Weather
As the PWS Network expands and integrates with the Watson IoT
platform, researchers can leverage the cognitive computing power of
Watson to develop new systems and applications for things like
precision agriculture (e.g., optimized irrigation, fertilization,
pest control) for these emerging and developing markets, thereby
providing integral solutions for governments, city planners and
businesses looking to optimize industry growth and management of
critical resources.
In addition to IoT infrastructure expansion and data
availability, the installment of these weather stations in
data-sparse areas provides a unique opportunity for researchers and
meteorologists to quantify the improvement in forecast accuracy as
a result of the data ingested from each new each station over time.
IBM's Watson IoT technology, with the aid of this personal weather
station data, will extrapolate upon current atmospheric models -
enabling forecasters to potentially discover new predictive
patterns.
As various IoT sensors have been introduced within the global
marketplace, the expectation of IoT capabilities to help improve
public safety, resource management, and streamline various business
and industry needs has grown exponentially. In an effort to create
an enhanced IoT infrastructure to address these needs, Weather
Underground is working with the Trans-African HydroMeteorological
Observatory (TAHMO) to deploy more than 300 personal weather
stations across Kenya,
Nigeria, and various other African
nations, in close cooperation with the national meteorological
agencies. Each of these stations will be placed in a strategic
location to serve a historically underserved community with
real-time, accurate weather data. Potential results of the
installations include helping improve irrigation and agricultural
resource management as well as providing unique climate insights
for the aviation, power, insurance, and various service-related
industries.
"The private sector, including companies such as Weather
Underground and The Weather Company, has played a useful role in
the delivery of weather forecasts," said Christian Blondin, head of cabinet of the
secretary-general and director, external relations, World
Meteorological Organization. "We welcome the role of such private
sector companies in the provision of selected value-added services
in complement of the services provided by national meteorological
and hydrometeorological services around the world."
To access localized weather information from the PWS Network,
users can download Weather Underground Apps or visit
wunderground.com.
The Weather Company, an IBM Business
The Weather Company, an IBM Business, is the world's largest
private weather enterprise, helping people make informed decisions
– and take action – in the face of weather. The company offers the
most accurate, personalized and actionable weather data and
insights to millions of consumers and thousands of businesses via
Weather's API, its business solutions division, and its own digital
products from The Weather Channel (weather.com) and Weather
Underground (wunderground.com).
The company delivers up to 26 billion forecasts daily. Its
products include a top weather app on all major mobile platforms
globally; the world's largest network of personal weather stations;
a top-20 U.S. website; the seventh most data-rich site in the
world; one of the world's largest IoT data platforms; and
industry-leading business solutions.
Weather Means Business™. The world's biggest brands in aviation,
energy, insurance, media, and government rely on The Weather
Company for data, technology platforms and services to help improve
decision-making and respond to weather's impact on business. For
more, visit www.theweathercompany.com.
Smarter Cities Challenge: Providing Governments With Access
to Weather Data in Areas In Need
The Smarter Cities Challenge deploys top IBM experts to help
cities around the world address their most critical challenges. IBM
puts teams on the ground for three weeks, pro bono, to work closely
with city leaders and deliver recommendations on how to make the
city smarter and more effective. To date, this initiative has made
investments valued at over $65
million in 130 cities around the world, and its impact has
been recognized by the White House and the Committee for
Encouraging Corporate Philanthropy.
Twitter handles: @weathercompany, @weatherchannel,
@wunderground, and @IBM
CONTACT:
Andria Stark
The Weather
Company, an IBM Business
(415)
983-2660
andria.stark@weather.com
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SOURCE The Weather Company; IBM