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JERUSALEM, Oct. 28: According to a study, smartphone data could be exploited to predict weather conditions that lead to floods and other natural disasters.
Smartphones measure raw data, such as atmospheric pressure, temperatures, and humidity, to evaluate weather conditions, researchers at the Tel Aviv University (TAU) in Israel said. .
To understand the operation of smartphone sensors, they placed four smartphones on the TAU campus under controlled conditions.
The study, published in the Journal of Atmospheric and Solar-Terrestrial Physics, badyzed the data to detect phenomena such as "atmospheric tides," which are similar to ocean tides.
The researchers also badyzed data from a British WeatherSignal application.
"The sensors in our smartphones constantly monitor our environment, including gravity, the Earth's magnetic field, atmospheric pressure, light levels, humidity, temperature, sound levels, etc.," said Professor Colin. Price of TAU.
"Vital atmospheric data exists today on 3 to 4 billion smartphones around the world. These data can improve our ability to accurately predict the weather and other natural disasters that kill many people each year, "said Price.
According to researchers, by 2020, there will be more than six billion smartphones in the world.
"Compare that with the 10,000 derisory official weather stations that exist today. The amount of information we could use to predict weather conditions, especially those that offer little or no warning, is mind-boggling, "Price said.
"In Africa, for example, there are millions of phones but only very basic meteorological infrastructures. Analyzing the data of 10 phones can be of little use, but badyzing data on millions of phones would change the game.
"Smartphones are getting cheaper, better and more available to users around the world," he said.
The same smartphones can be used to emit real-time weather alerts via a feedback loop, said Price.
The public can provide atmospheric data to the "cloud" via a smartphone application. This data would then be processed in real-time forecasts and returned to users with a forecast or warning for users in hazardous areas.
The study could better monitor and predict sudden floods that are difficult to predict.
"We are seeing a worldwide increase in torrential rains and showers, and some of them are causing sudden floods," said Price.
"The frequency of these intense floods is increasing. We can not prevent these storms, but we will soon be able to use smartphone data from the public to generate better forecasts and make them available to the public in real time via their phones, "he said. (AGENCIES)
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