Envision's Tianji Weather Foundation Model Tops ECMWF's AI Weather Quest

Green technology organization Envision has reported that its independently developed weather foundation model, Tianji, secured first place in the recent AI Weather Quest competition organized by the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF).

According to the announcement, Tianji competed against approximately 20 international teams, achieving top rankings across evaluated metrics including near-surface temperature, mean sea-level pressure, and precipitation for the 19-to-25-day forecast range.

Understanding the ECMWF Competition

AI Weather Quest assesses participating models through continuous real-time forecasting and verification. Key evaluation areas include:

• Extended Horizons: Moving beyond the standard 15-day medium-range horizon to probabilistic forecasts for days 19 through 25.
• Core Variables: Evaluating weekly average temperatures, mean sea-level pressure globally, and accumulated weekly precipitation.
• Grid Verification: Assessing temperatures and precipitation primarily over land-covered grid cells.

Performance and Applications

Envision stated that the model has previously achieved notable rankings in other evaluations, such as the WeatherBench 2 global assessment and the deterministic forecast track of the China National Meteorological Center's AI Weather Forecast Model Demonstration Program. Additionally, reported applications include energy sector competitions hosted by the State Grid and China Southern Power Grid.

Robert Zheng, head of the Envision Tianji Weather Foundation Model, noted that subseasonal forecasting—spanning from two weeks to two months ahead—remains a complex meteorological challenge due to atmospheric uncertainty.

Practical Implications and Verification

Advanced meteorological models assist in monitoring short-term conditions and planning for long-term trends, particularly within the renewable energy sector where wind speed and solar irradiance data are critical.

Readers interested in verifying these claims can consult official announcements directly from the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) or review updates published through Envision's official corporate communications channels.