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Britain’s New Supercomputer Will Provide The Most Accurate Weather Predictions In The World

New Met Office supercomputer
New Met Office supercomputer

Met Office

The new Met Office supercomputer.

Weather is highly unpredictable. But now a new supercomputer, weighing the equivalent of 11 double decker buses, will change the UK’s weather uncertainty forever. 

The UK’s Met office unveiled on Tuesday a £97 million new system, which will be fully operational in 2017. 

The new supercomputer will “cement the UK’s position as a world leader in weather and climate prediction,” the Met Office said in a statement

Hopefully this will limit the number of weather prediction errors as there have been many forecasting blunders in the past

The system will be 13 times more powerful than the one used now, granting meteorologists the ability to perform more than 16,000 trillion calculations per second, the office explains. 

Rob Varley, chief executive of the Exeter-based organization, said: “We are very excited about this new investment in UK science.  

“It will lead to a step change in weather forecasting and climate prediction and give us the capability to strengthen our collaborations with partners in the South West, UK and around the world.

“The new supercomputer, together with improved observations, science and modeling, will deliver better forecasts and advice to support UK business, the public and government.”

Met Office 'supercomputer' two
Met Office 'supercomputer' two

Met Office

The new supercomputer from above.

The new computer, which will have 120,000 times more memory than a top-end smartphone, will do more than giver a better indication of whether to wear a coat, though.

With the world’s climate rapidly changing, the Met Office says its new kit will “deliver £2 billion of socio-economic benefits to the UK” by improving the chance to prepare for disruptive weather. 

The ‘High Performance Computer’ (HPC) will also enable more precise information for geographical areas, and will be better equipped to predict disruptive weather such as flooding. 

And it has the capability of pinpointing weather on a smaller-scale, leading to scientists being able to assess specific regions more accurately. 

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