AI-based weather forecasting ‘still being studied’

Digital ministry denies reports of B497-million budget for US-based technology

The Ministry of Digital Economy and Society (DES) has denied reports about cabinet approval of a 497-million-baht project to introduce AI-powered weather forecasting from US-based Tomorrow.io to the Thai Meteorological Department.

Minister Chaichanok Chidchob told reporters at Government House on Tuesday that the project was currently only at the proof-of-concept stage, involving a feasibility study that had already been publicly presented.

The study examines the potential benefits of low-altitude and low-Earth-orbit satellites equipped with AI technology to analyse and integrate weather forecasting data. The work began under the previous administration and showed measurable improvements in effectiveness, he said.

However, the initiative involving the climate technology company Tomorrow.io has not yet reached the stage of budget allocation or project implementation, Mr Chaichanok said.

Further studies were being conducted to evaluate other options and compare them in terms of performance and cost-effectiveness.

“Reports that circulated previously were fake news,” he said.

Local media reports said the Thai Meteorological Department informed the DES ministry in July that the seven-month free trial it had carried out in collaboration with Tomorrow.io had concluded.

The AI-based forecasting results were not yet fully refined and required adjustments to better suit Thai conditions, Sukanyanee Yawinchan, the department’s director-general, was quoted as saying.

The Meteorological Department already has radar and weather station infrastructure worth 4.5 billion baht. The DES ministry said that the new system, if adopted, would enhance the existing data layer, not replace it.

Chaichanok Chidchob, the 36-year-old minister of the Thai Ministry of Digital Economy and Society. (Bangkok Post file photo)

Patchara Anantasin, the ministry’s permanent secretary, also said during a phone-in interview on the Nation TV current affairs programme Jor Luek Thua Thai (Inside Thailand) that the project had “never been part of the plan”.

“The ministry is preparing to send letters to news publishers asking them to correct their reports,” he said, adding that legal action could be taken if they failed to do so.

The ministry was also investigating which outlet was the first to report the claim, Mr Patchara said.

Reports about the project emerged on Monday, with several outlets, including Bangkok Biz News, Daily News and the Bangkok Post carrying stories about it. Reports that had previously appeared on some other outlets could not be found as of Tuesday morning.

Tomorrow.io is a Boston-based weather technology and climate security company that provides a space-powered, artificial intelligence-driven weather intelligence platform. Its technology was adapted from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s (Nasa) TROPICS programme.

The reports said that the Bangkok-based trading and environmental consulting company BPLC Co Ltd had been appointed as the local representative of the Tomorrow.io project. BPLC is chaired by Pichamon Chomanan, a granddaughter of Gen Kriangsak Chomanan, who served as prime minister of Thailand from 1977 to 1980.

The DES ministry oversees the Meteorological Department, which is responsible for weather forecasting in Thailand. The department has reportedly received budget increases of about 40% for two consecutive fiscal years, according to the Budget Bureau.

In fiscal 2026, the department was allocated 2.6 billion baht, up 41.8% from 1.8 billion in fiscal 2025. Its budget for fiscal 2027 increased by 45% to 3.9 billion baht.

The DES ministry is also among the ministries with the largest percentage increases in budget allocations for fiscal 2027.

A source familiar with the project said it had been reported as part of a Meteorological Department initiative funded under the fiscal 2027 budget, but the terms of reference had not yet been drafted.