AI Research
Researchers develop AI model to generate global realistic rainfall maps
Severe weather events, such as heavy rainfall, are on the rise worldwide. Reliable assessments of these events can save lives and protect property. Researchers at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) have developed a new method that uses artificial intelligence (AI) to convert low-resolution global weather data into high-resolution precipitation maps. The method is fast, efficient, and independent of location. Their findings have been published in npj Climate and Atmospheric Science.
“Heavy rainfall and flooding are much more common in many regions of the world than they were just a few decades ago,” said Dr. Christian Chwala, an expert on hydrometeorology and machine learning at the Institute of Meteorology and Climate Research (IMK-IFU), KIT’s Campus Alpin in the German town of Garmisch-Partenkirchen. “But until now the data needed for reliable regional assessments of such extreme events was missing for many locations.”
His research team addresses this problem with a new AI that can generate precise global precipitation maps from low-resolution information. The result is a unique tool for the analysis and assessment of extreme weather, even for regions with poor data coverage, such as the Global South.
For their method, the researchers use historical data from weather models that describe global precipitation at hourly intervals with a spatial resolution of about 24 kilometers. Not only was their generative AI model (spateGEN-ERA5) trained with this data, it also learned (from high-resolution weather radar measurements made in Germany) how precipitation patterns and extreme events correlate at different scales, from coarse to fine.
“Our AI model doesn’t merely create a more sharply focused version of the input data, it generates multiple physically plausible, high-resolution precipitation maps,” said Luca Glawion of IMK-IFU, who developed the model while working on his doctoral thesis in the SCENIC research project. “Details at a resolution of 2 kilometers and 10 minutes become visible. The model also provides information about the statistical uncertainty of the results, which is especially relevant when modeling regionalized heavy rainfall events.”
He also noted that validation with weather radar data from the United States and Australia showed that the method can be applied to entirely different climatic conditions.
Correctly assessing flood risks worldwide
With their method’s global applicability, the researchers offer new possibilities for better assessment of regional climate risks. “It’s the especially vulnerable regions that often lack the resources for detailed weather observations,” said Dr. Julius Polz of IMK-IFU, who was also involved in the model’s development.
“Our approach will enable us to make much more reliable assessments of where heavy rainfall and floods are likely to occur, even in such regions with poor data coverage.” Not only can the new AI method contribute to disaster control in emergencies, it can also help with the implementation of more effective long-term preventive measures such as flood control.
More information:
Luca Glawion et al, Global spatio-temporal ERA5 precipitation downscaling to km and sub-hourly scale using generative AI, npj Climate and Atmospheric Science (2025). DOI: 10.1038/s41612-025-01103-y
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Karlsruhe Institute of Technology
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Researchers develop AI model to generate global realistic rainfall maps (2025, July 10)
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As one of the world’s largest emerging markets, Indonesia is making strides toward its “Golden 2045 Vision” — an initiative tapping digital technologies and bringing together government, enterprises, startups and higher education to enhance productivity, efficiency and innovation across industries.
Building out the nation’s AI infrastructure is a crucial part of this plan.
That’s why Indonesian telecommunications leader Indosat Ooredoo Hutchison, aka Indosat or IOH, has partnered with Cisco and NVIDIA to support the establishment of Indonesia’s AI Center of Excellence (CoE). Led by the Ministry of Communications and Digital Affairs, called Komdigi, the CoE aims to advance secure technologies, cultivate local talent and foster innovation through collaboration with startups.
Indosat Ooredoo Hutchison President Director and CEO Vikram Sinha, Cisco Chair and CEO Chuck Robbins and NVIDIA Senior Vice President of Telecom Ronnie Vasishta today detailed the purpose and potential of the CoE during a fireside chat at Indonesia AI Day, a conference focused on how artificial intelligence can fuel the nation’s digital independence and economic growth.
As part of the CoE, a new NVIDIA AI Technology Center will offer research support, NVIDIA Inception program benefits for eligible startups, and NVIDIA Deep Learning Institute training and certification to upskill local talent.
“With the support of global partners, we’re accelerating Indonesia’s path to economic growth by ensuring Indonesians are not just users of AI, but creators and innovators,” Sinha added.
“The AI era demands fundamental architectural shifts and a workforce with digital skills to thrive,” Robbins said. “Together with Indosat, NVIDIA and Komdigi, Cisco will securely power the AI Center of Excellence — enabling innovation and skills development, and accelerating Indonesia’s growth.”
“Democratizing AI is more important than ever,” Vasishta added. “Through the new NVIDIA AI Technology Center, we’re helping Indonesia build a sustainable AI ecosystem that can serve as a model for nations looking to harness AI for innovation and economic growth.”
Making AI More Accessible
The Indonesia AI CoE will comprise an AI factory that features full-stack NVIDIA AI infrastructure — including NVIDIA Blackwell GPUs, NVIDIA Cloud Partner reference architectures and NVIDIA AI Enterprise software — as well as an intelligent security system powered by Cisco.
Called the Sovereign Security Operations Center Cloud Platform, the Cisco-powered system combines AI-based threat detection, localized data control and managed security services for the AI factory.
Building on the sovereign AI initiatives Indonesia’s technology leaders announced with NVIDIA last year, the CoE will bolster the nation’s AI strategy through four core pillars:
Some 28 independent software vendors and startups are already using IOH’s NVIDIA-powered AI infrastructure to develop cutting-edge technologies that can speed and ease workflows across higher education and research, food security, bureaucratic reform, smart cities and mobility, and healthcare.
With Indosat’s coverage across the archipelago, the company can reach hundreds of millions of Bahasa Indonesian speakers with its large language model (LLM)-powered applications.
For example, using Indosat’s Sahabat-AI collection of Bahasa Indonesian LLMs, the Indonesia government and Hippocratic AI are collaborating to develop an AI agent system that provides preventative outreach capabilities, such as helping women subscribers over the age of 50 schedule a mammogram. This can help prevent or combat breast cancer and other health complications across the population.
Separately, Sahabat-AI also enables Indosat’s AI chatbot to answer queries in the Indonesian language for various citizen and resident services. A person could ask about processes for updating their national identification card, as well as about tax rates, payment procedures, deductions and more.
In addition, a government-led forum is developing trustworthy AI frameworks tailored to Indonesian values for the safe, responsible development of artificial intelligence and related policies.
Looking forward, Indosat and NVIDIA plan to deploy AI-RAN technologies that can reach even broader audiences using AI over wireless networks.
Learn more about NVIDIA-powered AI infrastructure for telcos.
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