How will AI transform weather forecasting in Africa?
Doug Parker and Michael Baidu joined a panel discussion on the question “How will AI transform weather forecasting in Africa?”, at the Turing Institute’s AI-UK event on 17th March
The UK’s national showcase of data science and artificial intelligence (AI)
Hosted by The Alan Turing Institute, AI UK is an in-depth exploration of how data science and AI can be used to solve real-world challenges. Our diverse programme is thematically structured around the latest innovations from across the AI ecosystem. With a broad range of interactive content, covering the latest thinking on fundamental AI, digital twins, algorithmic bias, AI ethics – and much more.
- Sessions exploring the latest developments in data science and AI research, applied to today’s most pressing issues
- Thought leaders across far-reaching disciplines
- Innovative demonstrations of state-of-the-art AI research
- Thought-provoking discussions, hands-on workshops and interdisciplinary networking sessions
- Opportunities to engage with the Turing as the national institute for data science and AI.
The panel also had contributions from the Met Office, ECMWF, Gates Foundation and Turing Institute.
Neil Haussmann (Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation); Matthew Chantry (ECMWF); Doug Parker (UoL); Michael Baidu (UoL); Caroline Bane (UK Met Office); Richard Turner (University of Cambridget/ Alan Turing Institute)
Dr Michael Baidu and Prof Doug Parker were invited speakers on a recent panel discussion "How will AI transform weather forecasting in Africa?" hosted at AI UK 2025, The UK’s national showcase of data science and artificial intelligence (AI). Hosted by The Alan Turing Institute, AI UK is an in-depth exploration of how data science and AI can be used to solve real-world challenges.
The panel members included: Rich Turner (Professor of Machine Learning at the University of Cambridge), Neil Hausmann (Senior programme officer, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation), Caroline Bain (Head of Verification, Impacts and Post Processing, Met Office), Doug Parker and Michael Baidu (University of Leeds).
The topics discussed included: Current forecasting in Africa, the first and second AI revolution in weather prediction, How AI is changing the landscape of forecasting in Africa, what is needed to exploit the opportunities for AI forecasting in Africa and How to build trust in AI forecasting systems.
During the session, Doug Parker and Michael Baidu highlighted the need to leverage AI models to enhance forecasting in Africa where physical models still struggle to simulate accurate storms. They also mentioned the University of Leeds projects with African Universities and Meteorological Centres, including the GCRF Africa SWIFT and FASTA projects.
Dr Michael Baidu said: ‘It was a great experience representing both the University of Leeds and my former institution, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST). Both organisations are becoming national centres of expertise in AI for weather forecasting.’