We don’t need experts to tell us that the world is heating up — we can feel it all around us. As a result, people are searching the internet more for information about local weather conditions, and Google is often their first port of call. In March,the company launched heat alertsin the hopes of putting that information front and center in search results. Google may now be aiming to improve the accuracy of local weather information by using crowdsourced data.
The Google app has been spotted displaying questions about the current weather conditions in a certain area when a user enters “weather” or similar queries into the search box. Quick questions like “Is it raining now?” have appeared for some, including the folks over at9to5Google, with a “Yes” and “No” button right next to them.
Google is seemingly seeking public participation to monitor weather in specific locations and help supply crowdsourced data to the Weather app. 9to5 notes that these questions don’t always show up in search results.
The community feedback will inform Google’s Weather applet to make its data more precise and reliable. Crowdsourcing can collect weather data from a wider range of locations and at a higher frequency than traditional weather stations. This comes in handy, especially in areas with limited weather infrastructure.
Crowdsourcing temperature data on any given day can uncover pockets of extreme heat or rain showers that weather models might miss. This type of data can help guide more targeted investments and interventions to assist users in preparing for extreme weather conditions.
Google currently relies on The Weather Channel for weather information, but crowdsourcing could play an even greater role in providing accurate weather data. As more and more people use smartphones, there’s an even greater opportunity to collect weather data from a wider range of locations.
But this is not the only update that’s apparently coming to one of themost reliable weather apps. The service is said to be gaining a more modern interface featuring a refreshed card UI, similar to whatGoogle Search on mobile web browsers picked up in December. The new look replaces an outdated design that was introduced more than seven years ago.
