The Swiss Institute for Snow and Avalanche Research SLF has trained a computer programme to churn out avalanche forecasts which are just as accurate as those written by human forecasters.
The artificial intelligence (AI) tool, trained with two decades-worth of weather and forecast data, has been used as a “second opinion” by professional forecasters since last winter, SLF said this weekExternal link.
Normally, three experts at the institute spend the morning independently examining weather and observational data before writing an assessment in the afternoon, forecasting the risks for the following day. Now, they also compare their forecasts with the AI-generated outlook, and adapt if necessary.
In many cases the human and machine predictions match, but sometimes there are variations. “The computer analyses the data in a different way than we do. That’s why it occasionally arrives at a slightly different conclusion,” said forecaster Frank Techel, a joint author of a paper on the technology published this weekExternal link in the journal Natural Hazards and Earth Systems Sciences.
The researchers say the prediction accuracy of the model is 75%, which corresponds to the reliability of an experienced human forecaster. As such, they plan to continue consulting it in the future, and also want to develop it further – at the moment, it can only predict dry-snow avalanches, but not (yet) wet-snow avalanches and snowpack stability.
Since 1936, some 2,000 people have died in avalanches in Switzerland; 24 die on average every year.
More
More
Avalanches: looming danger in the Swiss Alps
This content was published on
Switzerland has a long tradition of avalanche protection. But how predictable is the white death?
University students in Switzerland join Gaza protest wave
This content was published on
Pro-Palestinian activists occupied university buildings in Lausanne, Geneva and Zurich on Tuesday, widening the protest movement in the Alpine nation.
TradeXBank to resume full operations after Sberbank Switzerland taken off sanctions list
This content was published on
TradeXBank, the former Swiss branch of Russia’s Sberbank, will be able to resume its dollar-denominated activities from the second half of this year.
Geneva decides not to remove controversial memorials
This content was published on
The city of Geneva has presented an action plan regarding a series of controversial local statues and monuments of historical figures linked to racism, colonialism or slavery.
University of Lausanne calls for end to pro-Palestine sit-in
This content was published on
The pro-Palestinian occupation continues at the University of Lausanne (UNIL). On Monday evening, a group of students refused to agree to the deadline set by the rectorate.
Ukraine peace conference should include Russia, says Chinese ambassador
This content was published on
China supports a peace conference on the Ukraine war that would see equal participation of all parties, says Chinese Ambassador to Russia Zhang Hanhui.
This content was published on
A majority of Swiss citizens have open attitudes towards various infertility treatments, including even egg donation, which is currently prohibited.
Reports of Swiss cyber fraud almost doubled in six months
This content was published on
The head of the new Federal Office for Cybersecurity (FOC), Florian Schütz, has presented a new strategy after just over four months in office.
This content was published on
Melting of the glaciers means more risk of landslides and flooding. Yet it is also opening up new opportunities for Alpine tourism.
You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here . Please join us!
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.