BRUSSELS – (Thomson Reuters Foundation) – As climate change intensifies the devastation from storms, wildfires and droughts, artificial intelligence (AI) and digital tools are increasingly being seen as a way to predict and limit its impacts. Governments, tech firms and investors are showing growing interest in machine-based learning systems that use algorithms to identify patterns in data sets and make predictions, recommendations or decisions in real or virtual settings. In June, the Rise Fund, an impact investing arm of private equity firm TPG, invested $100 million in a data and AI-driven "nowcasting" system devised by Kentucky-based startup Climavision to predict weather patterns with granular accuracy. And an intergovernmental roadmap on AI's role in fighting global warming is due to launch at November's COP26 climate summit in Scotland. But AI can also be highly energy-intensive and environmentally damaging, say critics who warn that the tech could be a costly distraction from more effective ways of tackling climate change.

A highway is closed due to snow and ice in Houston, Texas on Feb. 15, 2021. Up to 2.5 million ... [ ] customers were without power as the state's power generation capacity was impacted by an ongoing winter storm brought by Arctic blast. A new weather tech startup says it has created a new artificial intelligence (AI)-powered weather radar and satellite network to take on big weather. Climavision, which has $100 million in private equity funding, has created a high-resolution weather radar and satellite network that combines lower altitude, proprietary data with machine learning and AI technology. Chris Goode, CEO of Climavision, says the new sensing network will fill the coverage gaps in the existing NOAA and NWS systems across the US.