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AIFS -- ECMWF's data-driven forecasting system

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arxiv 2406.01465 v2 pith:6YERRWAU submitted 2024-06-03 physics.ao-ph

AIFS -- ECMWF's data-driven forecasting system

classification physics.ao-ph
keywords aifsecmwfweatherdataforecastingforecastsanalysesforecast
verification ladder T0 review T1 audit T2 compute T3 formal T4 reserved
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Machine learning-based weather forecasting models have quickly emerged as a promising methodology for accurate medium-range global weather forecasting. Here, we introduce the Artificial Intelligence Forecasting System (AIFS), a data driven forecast model developed by the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF). AIFS is based on a graph neural network (GNN) encoder and decoder, and a sliding window transformer processor, and is trained on ECMWF's ERA5 re-analysis and ECMWF's operational numerical weather prediction (NWP) analyses. It has a flexible and modular design and supports several levels of parallelism to enable training on high-resolution input data. AIFS forecast skill is assessed by comparing its forecasts to NWP analyses and direct observational data. We show that AIFS produces highly skilled forecasts for upper-air variables, surface weather parameters and tropical cyclone tracks. AIFS is run four times daily alongside ECMWF's physics-based NWP model and forecasts are available to the public under ECMWF's open data policy.

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Cited by 41 Pith papers

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