AURORA 1.3B: A foundation model for the Earth system
With the major impact of climate change, we are facing increasingly challenging and extreme weather. During the New Year period of 2026, the named winter event Anna hit Sweden with strong winds and heavy snowfall. This led to power outages, disrupted railway traffic, dangerous road conditions, etc. In Gävleborg in particular, it caused severe disruption—including widespread outages and major travel and transport paralysis—prompting authorities to issue a red warning. Can we know better where, when, and how such events will come for a better preparation for the future? We are expecting an answer from AI for science. And Microsoft Research AI for Science provides a foundation model AURORA for this. ...