BiXiao: An AI-Based Atmospheric Environment Forecasting Model Using Discontinuous Grids

Abstract

Currently, the technique of numerical model-based atmospheric environment forecasting has becoming mature, yet traditional numerical prediction methods struggle to balance computational costs and forecast accuracy, facing developmental bottlenecks. Recent advancements in artificial intelligence (AI) offer new solutions for weather prediction. However, most existing AI models do not have atmospheric environmental forecasting capabilities, while those with related functionalities remain constrained by grid-dependent data requirements, thus unable to deliver operationally feasible city-scale atmospheric environment forecasts. Here we introduce 'BiXiao', a novel discontinuous-grid AI model for atmospheric environment forecasting. 'BiXiao' couples meteorological and environmental sub-models to generate predictions using site-specific observational data, completing 72-hour forecasts for six major pollutants across all key cities in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region within 30 seconds. In the comparative experiments, the 'BiXiao' model outperforms mainstream numerical models in both computational efficiency and forecast accuracy. It surpasses CAMS with respect of operational 72-hour forecasting and exceeds WRF-Chem's performance in heavy pollution case predictions. The 'BiXiao' shows potential for nationwide application, providing innovative technical support and new perspectives for China's atmospheric environment forecasting operations.