The high-tech race to improve weather forecasting

livemint.com:

weather forecast would drastically reduce the prescience and preparedness of more than 35 countries, NATO, at least one space agency and a great many research institutions and businesses. The operation must run constantly, says Mr Dell’Acqua, who is in charge of the whole affair. “It’s really critical." Built inside a former tobacco factory, the Bologna data centre is a nerve centre of ECMWF’s operations.

Every day, 800m observations pour in from satellites, ocean buoys, ground weather stations, balloons and aircraft. Besides preparations for a power cut, there are contingency plans for floods and fires. Water from two external towers is circulated constantly, keeping the electronics cool.

Outside, though, cooling is in short supply. For the past two weeks much of Europe has been gripped by a punishing heatwave. Bologna was one of 23 Italian cities put on “red alert".

Several countries broke temperature records; fires have burned across Greece and the Canary Islands. Large swathes of America and Asia were also beset by sweltering heat. July 6th saw the highest average global air temperature ever recorded on Earth, according to estimates published by the University of Maine.

Elsewhere, the weather brought a different kind of misery. Torrential rain in South Korea, India and on America’s east coast killed scores. Two days after The Economist’s visit to Bologna, hailstones the size of tennis balls rained down on the nearby city of Milan.

Climate scientists reckon the heatwaves were made far more likely by climate change. Weather forecasts gave countries advance warning, a job that will become even more important as the planet warms further. Governments are investing in bigger and better forecasting models.