Fewer ‘Fasten Seat Belt’ Warnings, Courtesy of IBM
A new global weather forecasting system will benefit airline passengers—and farmers in the developing world.
You probably didn’t know you had a barometer in your phone, but International Business Machines Corp. does. IBM is planning to use barometric data from millions of phones (with their owners’ permission) to improve global weather forecasting. One big improvement will be in hour-ahead forecasting of upper-air turbulence, which will allow airlines to avoid choppy air.
The idea that a farmer with a cell phone in Brazil or India could make flying safer for people miles above is one of those weird and wonderful things about information technology in the 21st century. It’s also nice that the people on the ground will benefit: Because IBM’s system covers the whole planet, it will vastly improve day-ahead weather forecasting for farmers and others in parts of the world that have lagged behind the rich countries.