The funding, provided through the technology giant’s philanthropic organisation, Google.org, will support a four-year research programme designed to improve weather predictions by combining artificial intelligence, satellite imagery and real-time observations collected at ground level.
At the heart of the initiative is the Climate+ School Weather AI Network (SWAN), which will establish 560 solar-powered weather stations in schools across all 26 counties.
According to RTÉ the network will provide detailed, up-to-date information about local weather conditions, with readings published online every minute. The data will be freely accessible, allowing researchers, teachers and students to explore weather patterns and use the information for educational and scientific projects.
Participating schools will also receive training and teaching resources to help incorporate the technology and its findings into classroom activities.
The initiative will be delivered by the AIMSIR Centre, Ireland’s first dedicated AI weather research centre, in collaboration with Met Éireann and the Climate+ Co-Centre.
As part of the wider investment, €2.25 million will be allocated to the AIMSIR Centre through the UCD Foundation to support the research and development work.
Additional backing will come from the Irish Schools Sustainability Network, the Irish Science Teachers’ Association and Scoilnet, the Department of Education and Skills’ official education portal.
Google and Alphabet President of Global Affairs Kent Walker said the combination of research expertise and real-time observations could significantly strengthen Ireland’s ability to predict extreme weather events.
“Combining the expertise of Ireland’s research community, new tools, and real-time weather observations from schools across the country will improve local forecasting for the kinds of severe storms and flash floods we saw last year,” Mr Walker said.
He added that more reliable long-range forecasts would help communities prepare for changing weather conditions, saying: “Making long-term forecasts more accurate will help people be prepared for whatever the weather throws at them.”
Professor Andrew Parnell, director of the AIMSIR Centre and Met Éireann Professor of Data Science for Climate and Weather at University College Dublin, said open access to the information would be a central feature of the programme.
He confirmed that the data gathered by the school stations, along with their designs and the software developed to analyse the information, would be made publicly available.
“Every reading from every school, the designs for the stations themselves and the code we write to make sense of it all will be published openly and free to use,” Professor Parnell said.
He said the project would give pupils an opportunity to explore weather conditions in their own communities and compare findings with observations from elsewhere in the country.
“A student in Donegal will be able to see the rain falling on their own school a minute after it lands, and a student anywhere in Ireland will be able to use that same data for their own projects too,” he added.
Taoiseach Micheál Martin also welcomed the funding, highlighting the potential benefits for both scientific research and education.
Mr Martin said the collaboration between schools, researchers, Met Éireann and Ireland’s technology sector could improve understanding of the country’s weather while encouraging young people to engage directly with science and innovation.
The investment is expected to strengthen Ireland’s climate research capabilities while giving schools access to practical tools that could help students better understand weather systems, climate change and the importance of accurate forecasting.
