How can the use of quantum computers improve weather forecasting?

Quantum computing has the potential to change the world and disrupt every industry by providing the opportunity to solve critical problems that modern-day supercomputers just can't achieve. The potentiality of quantum computers also includes the mapping of extremely complex weather patterns. This article is focused on forecasting the weather using quantum computers. Let's see how.

Accurate Weather Forecasting is Difficult

Forecasting the weather can be difficult. In weather prediction, it is hard to get 100% accuracy especially when the weather is considered changeable and the information available is limited. Advanced warnings of wild weather are necessary to minimize the impact of catastrophic events and the ensuing devastation and loss, but current models can only predict regional-scale weather events such as snowstorms and hurricanes, not more localized events such as thunderstorms. Thus, there is a requirement of computing power to keep an eye on the whole globe and predict when a simple storm might become dangerous. But this is not available. Many of the world's largest supercomputers are already dedicated to weather forecasting but to achieve greater accuracy, they need even more computational brute force. Here comes the emergence of quantum computing.

Every year there are hurricanes, extreme heatwaves, tornadoes, and other extreme weather events, resulting in thousands of deaths and billions of dollars in damages. Prediction of extreme weather further in advance and with increased accuracy could allow for targeted regions to be better prepared to reduce loss of life and property damage.

Granted, there has been much work undertaken in the development of advanced computational models to enhance forecasting over the years, and much progress has been made. Weather forecasting requires analyzing huge amounts of data containing several dynamic variables, such as air temperature, pressure, and density that interact in a non-trivial way. However, there are limitations to using classical computers and even supercomputers in developing numerical weather and climate prediction models. Also, the process of analyzing the weather data by traditional computers may not be fast enough to keep up with ever-changing weather conditions.

Even local weather forecasting, which is rapidly evolving all the time, can stand to benefit from improved forecasting. Take, for example, thunderstorms, where highly accurate and advanced prediction by improved data analysis could minimize the resulting damage, as there could be warning further in advance about potential power outages, and increased preparedness, allowing the local community to restore power faster.

Quantum Computers for Improved Weather Forecasting on Both the Local and Global Scale

Quantum computing will serve to benefit weather forecasting on both the local scale as well as on a grander scale for more advanced and accurate warning of extreme weather events, potentially saving lives and reducing property damage annually. Beyond weather prediction, to stay informed on the state of quantum computing and its increasing impact on a variety of industries, keep up to date with the 1QBit blog, and follow us on social media.

Quantum computing has the potential to improve conventional numerical methods to boost tracking and predictions of meteorological conditions by handling huge amounts of data containing many variables efficiently and quickly, by harnessing the computing power of qubits, and by using quantum-inspired optimization algorithms. Moreover, pattern recognition, crucial for understanding the weather, can be enhanced utilizing quantum machine learning.

Progression and Prediction

The enhancement of weather forecasting using quantum computing has already been set to become a reality in the coming future.

The UK Met Office has already heavily invested in quantum computing to help improve forecasting, while IBM Research has collaborated with The Weather Company, the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research (UCAR), and the National Centre for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) in America to develop a rapidly-updating, storm-scale model that could predict thunderstorms at a local level. Their model is the first to cover the entire globe and will provide high-resolution forecasts even in the most underserved areas. It employs IBM's supercomputing technology and geographical processing units and, in the future, has the potential to combine with quantum computing to help track and predict the meteorological conditions in ways that classical supercomputers are unable to achieve.