94 pc of Indian business decision-makers concerned over negative impact of climate change: IBM

New Delhi [India], Dec 12 (ANI): Nearly 72 per cent of Indians believe that the local economy has been disrupted by a severe weather event in the past year, according to a new study by IBM and its subsidiary The Weather Company released on Thursday.
Additionally, 89 per cent of Indians expressed concern that climate change could have a negative impact on the economy. Further emphasising climate change apprehension, seven in 10 Indians (66 per cent) believe that severe weather events are much more common now than they used to be.
The study, fielded by IBM in partnership with Morning Consult, sheds light on how climate change relates to severe weather. It also examines Indians' perception of the economic and business impact of severe weather along with confidence in local weather forecasts.
According to the findings, those in India are nearly twice as likely than those in the United States to state they are not confident in their local weather forecast.
"As weather conditions become increasingly more severe across the globe, it is crucial that businesses across India have access to timely and accurate weather data to help stay prepared," said Cameron Clayton, General Manager at IBM Watson Media and Weather.
The global rollout of IBM GRAF helps the region prepare for and respond to climate change. The supercomputer-powered system provides fresher, higher-quality forecasts for countries like India that have never before had access to state-of-the-art weather data.
"The launch of IBM GRAF is an inflection point in forecasting science where technology democratises weather data for the good of society. Enhanced global forecasts are revolutionary in areas of the world like India where we are committed to delivering improved weather insights to businesses and consumers to help save time, money and lives," said Clayton.
IBM GRAF will provide much finer-grained predictions of the atmosphere and update its forecasts six to 12 times more frequently than conventional global modelling systems, he added.
In India, current global weather models cover 9 to13 kilometres and are updated every six hours. By contrast, IBM GRAF forecasts down to 3 kilometres and is updated hourly. With 12 trillion pieces of forecast information issued per day by IBM GRAF, IBM aims to improve forecast quality in India.
(ANI)