ECMWF IFS Upgraded to 0.25° Resolution

Continuing the Transformation Towards Open-Data

The ECMWF IFS model is now accessible as open data with a resolution of 0.25°. Beginning February 1st 2024, the open data distribution of IFS transitioned from 0.4° to 0.25°. This enhancement notably enhances data accuracy, particularly for coastal regions and mountainous landscapes. The improved resolution is highly welcomed, as the previous 0.4° resolution was too coarse for many applications.

ECMWF IFS forecasts at 0.25° resolution

Here are the specifications:

• Enhanced resolution from 0.4° to 0.25°

• Surface variables such as temperature at 2 meters, surface temperature, precipitation, pressure, and wind speed at 10 meters

• 9 atmospheric pressure levels for temperature, humidity, or wind

• 10-day forecast at 3-hourly time steps

• Ensemble forecast featuring 51 members for a 15-day forecast

• 4 updates per day with

The upgraded resolution is seamlessly integrated into the Open-Meteo Weather API. You can now compare forecasts from 18 different weather models to assess forecast uncertainty and choose the model that best suits your requirements.

Ensemble forecasts with all 51 members at 0.25° are accessible through the Ensemble API. For more details about the ECMWF IFS open-data program, refer to the ECMWF website.

With a 0.25° resolution, the new IFS open-data model is suitable for operational use in running the Google GraphCast machine learning model. Previously, GraphCast relied on Copernicus ERA5, which had a 5-day delay, making it impractical for real-time forecast applications. The release of the open-data IFS 0.25° now allows you to run GraphCast every 6 hours and create your machine learning forecast. The only caveat is the need for a big GPU to efficiently run GraphCast, but compared to a supercomputer, it's a bargain.

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