China Challenges Europe’s Weather Data Dominance with Homegrown AI Dataset
China is accelerating efforts to replace Europe’s ERA5 weather dataset—the global standard for climate modeling—with a domestically developed alternative. The MOVE aligns with Beijing’s broader push for technological self-sufficiency and data sovereignty.
ERA5, maintained by the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts, underpins AI-driven forecasting worldwide. Huawei and other Chinese firms currently rely on it. But dependence on foreign systems now clashes with national security priorities.
“Weather forecasting is national security,” notes Andreas Prein of ETH Zurich. The shift reflects China’s framing of meteorological data as critical infrastructure rather than mere scientific input—a stance intensified by AI’s hunger for vast datasets.
