COUNTRY FOCUS : UK
information to improve city design , such as public transport infrastructure .
• Better forecasting of local-scale weather using very high-resolution simulations that can be quickly turned on in an area where severe weather is forecast . This will enhance emergency preparedness to local storms , heavy rain and flooding .
• Increased access to ever greater amounts of weather and climate data , providing businesses with new opportunities to innovate and create new services based on this information .
• Ever more accurate forecasts of wind and temperature information for the aviation industry driving ever greater fuel efficiency and safety . This will deliver significant economic and environmental benefits as part of the post-COVID recovery .
Penny Endersby , Chief Executive , Met Office , said : “ We are delighted to be working in collaboration with Microsoft to deliver our next supercomputing capability . Working together , we will provide the highest-quality weather and climate datasets and ever more accurate forecasts that enable decisions to allow people to stay safe and thrive . This will be a unique capability which will keep not just the Met Office , but the UK at the forefront of environmental modelling and highperformance computing .
“ This investment by the UK government is a great vote of confidence in the Met Office ’ s world-leading status as a provider of weather and climate science and services , as well as in our national commitment to build a more resilient world in a changing climate , helping build back greener across the UK and beyond .”
Clare Barclay , Chief Executive Officer , Microsoft UK , said : “ The Met Office has long been synonymous with excellence and innovation in our understanding of the impact of weather and climate . To make progress with the ecological challenges we face requires innovation , technology and partnerships . The potential of the deep expertise , data gathering capacity and historical archive of the Met Office , combined with the sheer scale and power of supercomputing on Microsoft Azure will mean we can improve forecasting , help tackle climate change and ensure the UK remains at the forefront of climate science for decades to come .”
Science Minister , Amanda Solloway , said : “ In the run-up to COP26 , the UK is demonstrating global leadership in bringing together the very best scientific and technological expertise to develop solutions to tackle climate change .
Penny Endersby , Chief Executive , Met Office
“ Backed by a £ 1.2 billion government investment , this pioneering partnership between
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