Japan: Japan Meteorological Agency Receives 31 Petaflops Supercomputer From Fujitsu

The Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) has received a new 31.1 petaflop supercomputer from Fujitsu. The new system will be used to forecast the probability of linear rainbands, which can result in floods and landslides and is anticipated to be operational in March 2023. Cumulonimbus clouds that stay in one spot for several hours cause linear rainbands, which frequently produce heavy rain. The Fujitsu Supercomputer PrimeHPC FX1000 hardware, which has the same A64FX Processor as Fugaku, now rated number two on the Top500 list of most powerful systems, will serve as the foundation for the supercomputer. 

A Fujitsu data center will house the system. Although a more precise site has not been given, the company's Yokohama-based facility is closest to the JMA. Fujitsu claims this data center is designed with safeguards against numerous natural calamities, such as earthquakes and flooding. The new supercomputer features high-speed storage with an overall capacity of 42.3 petabytes, and it has 24 racks, with 12 racks each for the main and subsystems. Since June 2022, JMA has been working with Fugaku to develop its linear rainband technology. The outcomes from this will be used to improve the new system. According to Fujitsu, the company intends to continue assisting with the JMA's initiatives, such as by assisting with the creation of the Automated Meteorological Data Collection System (AMeDAS). 

The Japanese company Fujitsu offers IT services in the areas of computers, networks, artificial intelligence (AI), data, and security. Earlier this year, the company gave Taiwan's Central Weather Bureau access to another supercomputer, this one with a capacity of 10 petaflops. The system was built using the same hardware that the JMA was given. The Galacian Supercomputing Center in Spain received a $15 million quantum computer from Fujitsu, according to an announcement made in January.