Zomato Unveils ‘Weather Union’ To Open Source Real-Time Weather Data

SUMMARY

This is the first such crowd-sourced weather infrastructure of India, claimed Goyal on X

The installed weather device captures the real time weather data and uses machine learning for network optimisations and maintaining operational continuity under any weather condition

Zomato has opened up free access to this project for all institutions and companies in the country

Zomato CEO Deepinder Goyal unveiled a weather infrastructure called Weather Union, a proprietary network of 650+ on-ground weather stations, developed in collaboration with Centre For Atmospheric Sciences – IIT Delhi.

Posting on X, Goyal claimed that this is the first such crowd-sourced weather infrastructure of India. “These weather stations, developed by Zomato, provide localised, real-time information on key weather parameters such as temperature, humidity, wind speed, rainfall etc. Currently available across 45 large cities, we are expanding this in other Indian cities very soon,” he stated.

According to Goyal, the system is designed to hold significant potential in unlocking weather related use-cases for enterprises and research institutes. The food delivery and quick commerce giant is open sourcing this data so that other companies and institutions can benefit from the weather data and leverage it for their needs.

The company has opened up free access to this project for all institutions and companies in the country. Goyal is of the view that multiple companies and public institutions should use real-time weather data, to boost the productivity of our economy.

“At Zomato, it was crucial for us to have access to precise and real-time weather information to make the right business decisions to serve our customers better,” the CEO said..

The installed weather device captures real-time weather data and uses machine learning for network optimisations and maintaining operational continuity under any weather conditions.

“Also, a lot of Zomato employees have hosted weather stations at their homes. As we look forward to further expanding this infrastructure, we welcome volunteers who want to provide us space on their premises to install these weather stations and contribute to nation building,” he added.

Given that Weather Union is a not-for-profit business, it would sit alongside Feeding India within the Zomato umbrella. Feeding India conducts interventions to reduce hunger and malnutrition among underserved communities in India. Launched in 2021, the CSR initiative claims to have delivered over 14 Cr meals through 140 NGO partners in 40 cities in India.