{"id":60068552,"date":"2025-01-22T02:30:00","date_gmt":"2025-01-22T02:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/?post_type=podcast&p=60068552"},"modified":"2025-02-19T17:40:03","modified_gmt":"2025-02-19T17:40:03","slug":"can-india-use-ai-to-predict-extreme-weather-events","status":"publish","type":"podcast","link":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/climate\/can-india-use-ai-to-predict-extreme-weather-events\/","title":{"rendered":"Can India use AI to predict extreme weather events?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

In the face of increasingly erratic weather patterns and growing incidences of extreme weather, precise and timely forecasting can protect lives, property and infrastructure. While traditional forecasting methods continue to be used, scientists are exploring how artificial intelligence and machine learning (AI\/ML) could improve<\/a> their speed and accuracy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Globally, there\u2019s a great deal of financial<\/a> excitement around these technologies, but India finds itself at a more nascent stage. In 2023, the country announced a new virtual centre<\/a> to develop AI\/ML techniques for weather predictions. But a massive challenge awaits: the lack of credible data.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Robust and voluminous data is at the core of AI\/ML models. India lacks this, despite being no stranger to frequent weather-related disasters like heatwaves, floods and cyclones. Data paucity is even more critical for the Himalayan region, which is also particularly vulnerable to climate-related disasters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/div>
Recommended<\/span><\/span><\/div><\/a>\n\n\n\n

Having worked with environmental data for more than 20 years \u2013 and knowing the challenges involved \u2013 journalist Nidhi Jamwal was keen to gain a deeper understanding of India\u2019s AI weather forecasting journey. Writing for Dialogue Earth last year, she consulted various experts to explore the complexities of this topic and how the country\u2019s data gap might be bridged.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In this second episode of The Third Pole Podcast, Jamwal reveals that a lack of data is not the only problem. The availability of existing data, which is often very hard to obtain from the various agencies that gather it, is also a central issue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Joining Jamwal is Amitabha Bagchi. A professor of computer science at the Indian Institute of Technology Delhi, Bagchi gets down to the nitty-gritty of how AI\/ML models work. He also introduces the India Stack<\/a>, which might offer an innovative solution to many of the country\u2019s data woes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you don\u2019t even know the volume of water that the lake has, how do you even tell at what velocity the water will flow and … what damages it will cause?<\/blockquote>Nidhi Jamwal, independent journalist<\/cite><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n
\"Four<\/div>
Behind the scenes at the recording of the second episode of The Third Pole Podcast. From left to right: Co-host Omair Ahmad, guests Nidhi Jamwal and Amitabha Bagchi, and co-host Shalinee Kumari (Image: Dialogue Earth)<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Guests<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Nidhi Jamwal<\/a>, independent journalist
Amitabha Bagchi<\/a>, professor, Indian Institute of Technology Delhi<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Credits<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Hosts: Shalinee Kumari, Omair Ahmad
Producer: Shalinee Kumari
Audio edit and sound design: Gaurav Krishna \/ Dead End Right Studios<\/a>
Recording studio: Pindrop Media<\/a>
Artwork: Sana Nasir<\/a>
Thanks to: Lizi Hesling, Nanaui Amoros Silva, Chaia Dechen, Georgie Campbell<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Music credits<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAlarm Cycle\u201d by Blue Dot Sessions<\/a>, licence:\u00a0CC BY NC<\/a>\u00a0
\u201cBorough\u201d by Blue Dot Sessions<\/a>, licence:\u00a0CC BY NC<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

About the series<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The Third Pole Podcast is a new Dialogue Earth series focusing on climate change and the environment in the Himalayan watershed. It aims to create a space for beyond-the-article conversations with our journalists and field experts. At the same time, we also ask questions about the state of environmental journalism in South Asia: why it is needed, what issues it should be looking at and what challenges it faces.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Episode two of The Third Pole Podcast explores the challenges of AI-based weather forecasting<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":60068572,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","categories":[761],"tags":[543,597,50040707],"country":[20000111],"class_list":["post-60068552","podcast","type-podcast","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-climate","tag-extreme-weather","tag-technology","tag-the-third-pole","country-india"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nCan India use AI to predict extreme weather events?<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Episode two of The Third Pole Podcast explores the challenges of AI-based weather forecasting\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/climate\/can-india-use-ai-to-predict-extreme-weather-events\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" 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