‘Digital Twin’ is an AI Tool for Environmental Monitoring and Analysis
The European Commission has released the first version of Destination Earth (DestinE), an AI-powered simulator designed to improve climate predictions. This includes two models—one for extreme weather events and another for climate change adaptation. These models monitor, simulate, and predict the Earth’s climate with great detail. The project is powered by Europe’s high-performance computers, including the LUMI supercomputer in Finland, combined with AI to boost data processing speeds.
Ultimately, DestinE looks to create a complete digital twin of the Earth by the end of the decade. This digital twin will use a vast data lake from satellite and IoT sensors to make predictions and simulations. The EU has committed over €300 million to build the digital twin, and today’s launch marks the end of the first phase, with each phase receiving over €150 million in funding.
Further funding will hinge on the agreement of the final Digital Europe programme for 2025-2027. The EU isn’t the only organization working on this tech — Nvidia unveiled its own digital twin, Earth-2, and the government of Taiwan is using it to predict typhoons.