To anticipate natural disasters and climate change, technological development led by the European Commission may be key. They are the so-called “digital twins of the Earth” that, with artificial intelligence and super computers like the Mare Nostrum 5 in Barcelona, can tell us with unprecedented precision how the planet will behave in months, years and even decades.
It is a trip to the future with virtual simulators of the planet that already allow us to anticipate that in Barcelona, for example, more intense rains than those of this November are expected in December of next year.
The supercomputer at the Barcelona Supercomputing Center is one of the cornerstones of this project that will not be completed until 2030 and encompasses everything from the European Space Agency to the AEMET. With the latest technology and artificial intelligence, the capacity and precision of any meteorological and climate system known until now is exponentially multiplied.
With an unprecedented impact, they announce, in sectors such as agriculture, urban planning or preparation for natural disasters, such as cyclones, heat waves or episodes of extreme rains and floods.
These highly precise virtual simulators will allow us to recreate scenarios 50 years from now, whether measures against climate change are applied or not, until obtaining up-to-the-minute and on-demand monitoring of any region on Earth. More complete predictions adapted to any meteorological variation that could compromise lives, to make a more habitable and sustainable planet possible.