Aardvark AI Predicts Weather in Minutes

Researchers at Cambridge University have unveiled Aardvark Weather, an advanced weather prediction system that is significantly faster and more efficient than existing forecasting models. According to the research team, Aardvark is tens of times faster than current AI and physics-based systems while requiring thousands of times less computing power.

Lead researcher Richard Turner highlighted the system’s potential, stating that it could make weather forecasting faster, cheaper, more flexible, and more accurate than ever before. Unlike traditional models, Aardvark aims to extend forecasts up to eight days in advance, surpassing the current five-day accuracy limit. The system can also provide tailored predictions for specific industries, such as wind energy companies tracking wind speeds or farmers monitoring temperature fluctuations for agriculture.

How Does Aardvark Improve Weather Forecasting?

Traditional weather prediction relies on complex computational models that require supercomputers, large expert teams, and high maintenance costs. These systems process vast amounts of atmospheric data over several hours to generate forecasts.

Aardvark, however, streamlines this entire process by replacing multiple forecasting models with a single, large language model. It gathers real-time data from satellites, weather stations, and sensors to produce local and global forecasts almost instantly.

One of Aardvark’s most remarkable achievements is its ability to generate forecasts in minutes on a desktop computer—a process that would traditionally take hours on supercomputers. In tests, even when using just 10% of the input data of conventional models, Aardvark outperformed the United States national GFS forecasting system in multiple parameters.

First author Anna Allen emphasized that this end-to-end learning approach could be expanded to tackle other environmental challenges, including hurricane predictions, tornado tracking, wildfire forecasting, and air quality assessments.

With its speed, efficiency, and adaptability, Aardvark could revolutionize weather forecasting, making it more accessible and cost-effective for industries and governments worldwide.