Plans to launch a new supercomputer that will bring significant advancements to short-term weather forecasting have been announced by Met Éireann.

The new “multi-million euro high-performance computer”, set to be operational in 2023, will be powered entirely by renewable Icelandic hydropower and geothermal energy sources and through taking advantage of the local temperate climate.

Met Éireann stated that the initiative will bring “short-term weather forecasting to the next level” at a time when climate change means “weather patterns are expected to become more extreme and more challenging to forecast”.

Farming

It says the supercomputer will provide a “high-resolution weather forecast” which will “enable the agricultural sector to make earlier decisions to protect and better manage their crops and livestock”.

Of benefit to the wider population, it will provide more accurate and timely weather warnings that will allow emergency services to prepare for potential impacts of severe weather.

It will also help people and communities make better decisions to protect lives, homes and businesses when impacted by extreme weather events.

Collaboration

The supercomputer will be built by Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) and operated between Met Éireann and the National Weather Services of Denmark, Iceland and the Netherlands.

The collaboration between the four countries – United Weather Centres-West – is a “scientific and technical response” to ongoing changes in weather patterns brought about by climate change.

Role in research

Met Éireann highlighted that the supercomputer will also be used to advance climate science research which will support Government and businesses with “long-term decisions and policy-making as we continue to prepare for and mitigate the impacts of climate change”.

Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage Darragh O’Brien said: “As we continue to see the impacts of extreme weather from a changing climate both around the world and closer to home, it has never been more important to provide accurate and timely weather information.”

Director of Met Éireann, Eoin Moran, said: “This is particularly important in the context of the influence of climate change on the predictably of weather systems as the new supercomputer will allow for the incorporation of the most up to date weather forecasting methodologies."