The centre, of which Ireland is a member, has also announced plans to predict large weather events up to two weeks ahead and predict large weather patterns four weeks ahead of time.

The global forecast resolution will also be increased by more than three times, through decreasing the grid size from 18km to 5km.

Under these new changes, for example, storms would be predicted by an average of 10 days beforehand, along with heatwaves being predicted around three to four weeks ahead.

How will this be achieved?

Part of the ECMWF’s plans include improving research and IT infrastructure in order to increase weather predictability.

These plans are the latest the centre has unveiled in recent times. The plans also include a new data assimilation system, which will initialise forecasts in all time zones, increasing the size of the global forecasting system by more than three times its current resolution and a system which will monitor the correlations between the ocean, land, atmosphere and ozone layer.

Raising the bar

ECMWF director general Florence Rabier said the agency is constantly striving to raise the international bar in weather forecasting. “ECMWF is a shining example of the value of European and global co-operation in the scientific field and one which has tangible benefits.”

ECMWF was established in 1975 to assist national meteorological agencies, such as Met Éireann, in providing more accurate and better informed forecast information to the public.

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