How G42 and Nvidia AI Solutions are Advancing Climate Tech
United Arab Emirates-based AI and cloud computing company G42 has announced a partnership with Nvidia to advance climate technology through the development of AI solutions, potentially revolutionising how industries and governments prepare for and respond to climate-related challenges.
The initiative builds upon Nvidia’s Earth-2, an open platform that uses AI to accelerate climate and weather predictions. Earth-2 employs high-resolution simulations to improve forecasting capabilities, allowing for more detailed and accurate projections of weather patterns and climate trends. The partnership’s initial focus will be on creating a square-kilometre resolution weather forecasting model to enhance meteorological predictions.
Earth-2: Nvidia’s Earth climate digital twin
Launched in March 2022, Nvidia’s Earth-2 platform was developed to address the growing economic impact of extreme weather events. These events, exacerbated by climate change, are estimated to cause US$140bn in annual economic losses globally.
Earth-2 is part of Nvidia’s CUDA-X microservices and operates on the NVIDIA DGX Cloud. Its cloud APIs enable users to create AI-powered emulations that significantly accelerate the delivery of interactive, high-resolution simulations. These simulations can model a wide range of phenomena, from global atmospheric conditions to local cloud cover, typhoons and turbulence.
The platform’s efficiency is particularly notable in the climate tech industry, valued at US$20bn. When combined with proprietary data, Earth-2’s APIs can produce warnings and updated forecasts in seconds, a stark improvement over traditional CPU-driven modeling that often takes minutes or hours.
“Climate disasters are now normal – historic droughts, catastrophic hurricanes and generational floods appear in the news with alarming frequency,” commented Jensen Huang, founder and CEO of Nvidia. “Earth-2 cloud APIs strive to help us better prepare for — and inspire us to act to moderate — extreme weather.”
Applying AI to solve critical global challenges
Current global models typically operate at resolutions of tens of kilometres, limiting their ability to capture local weather phenomena accurately. By increasing the resolution to one square kilometre, the new model promises to provide more localised and precise forecasts – which could be particularly valuable for urban planning, agriculture and disaster management.
“This initiative with Nvidia is a testament to our commitment to applying AI in ways that not only innovate but also solve critical global challenges,” Peng Xiao, Group CEO of G42, says. “Establishing the Earth-2 Climate Tech Lab in Abu Dhabi allows us to leverage our unique capabilities and insights to foster a sustainable future for the world.”
Establishing the Climate Tech Lab
Central to the collaboration is the establishment of a new operational base and Climate Tech Lab in Abu Dhabi. This facility will serve as a hub for research and development, driving the companies' environmental sustainability efforts. The lab will utilise over 100 petabytes of geophysical data assets to create tailored climate and weather solutions.
With the United Arab Emirates increasingly positioning itself as a leader in sustainability and technological innovation in the Middle East, the move aims to contribute to the country’s broader goals to diversify its economy and contribute to global efforts in combating climate change.
The vast amount of geophysical data at the lab's disposal – over 100 petabytes – represents a significant resource for climate research. This data, combined with G42's AI expertise and Nvidia’s computational power, will drive forward both companies’ commitment to environmental sustainability.
Data integration and global impact
The initiative will focus on building a framework to integrate enhanced weather prediction capabilities with comprehensive data metrics and visualisation. This integration aims to assist organisations worldwide in achieving sustainability goals through data-driven environmental strategies.
The potential applications of this technology are far-reaching. More accurate weather and climate predictions could help farmers optimise crop planting and harvesting schedules, enable energy companies to better predict renewable energy output and assist city planners in designing more resilient urban infrastructure.
- Partnership: G42 (Abu Dhabi-based AI and cloud computing company) collaborating with Nvidia (US-based graphics processing unit manufacturer)
- Focus: Developing AI solutions to enhance weather forecasting accuracy globally
- Technology: Based on Nvidia's Earth-2, an open platform for AI-augmented climate and weather predictions
- Initial Goal: Creating a square-kilometre resolution weather forecasting model
Moreover, improved climate modelling could enhance our understanding of long-term climate trends, providing policymakers with more reliable data to inform climate adaptation and mitigation strategies.
By combining G42's AI expertise with Nvidia’s computational capabilities, the partnership seeks to deliver climate solutions that merge scientific accuracy with real-world applicability. These solutions are expected to drive change across various industries and ecosystems, from agriculture and energy to urban planning and disaster preparedness.
The collaboration aligns with growing global concerns about climate change and the need for more accurate weather forecasting. As extreme weather events become more frequent and severe due to climate change, the demand for precise, localised weather predictions has never been greater.
“Our collaboration with G42 marks a pivotal step toward harnessing AI to understand and predict climate phenomena with unprecedented accuracy,” says Jensen Huang. “The Earth-2 Climate Tech Lab will propel environmental solutions using the most advanced accelerated computing and AI technology to benefit millions of people around the world.”
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