Japan's new supercomputer will forecast heavy rains 6 hours in advance

Mar 02, 2023 | News On Japan

The new supercomputer system can predict the occurrence of linear rainbands, which are clouds that trigger heavy rain, leading to natural disasters.

Mar 02, 2023 (interestingengineering.com) - Trust Japan to get a supercomputer to predict heavy rain and other natural disasters like landslides and flooding.

Japan has always had to deal with natural disasters as the island is located along an area where several tectonic plates meet. The country is highly vulnerable to natural disasters such as earthquakes, tsunamis, and natural disasters. These have only been exacerbated due to climate change.

Tech company Fujitsu has unveiled a new supercomputer system provided to the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) for use in linear rainband forecasting, according to a company release.

A weather phenomenon, linear rainbands are cumulonimbus clouds that are slow-moving or stationary. Leading to heavy rains they have picked up over the sea. The new supercomputer system, which began operations on March 1, will be able to forecast natural disasters six to twelve hours in advance. ...continue reading

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