CustomWeather Expects Near-Normal Monsoon Season Across Most of India

CustomWeather, Inc., a specialized provider of high resolution weather forecast and alert services, has issued a Seasonal Climate Forecast for India’s 2019 monsoon season, beginning in May and concluding in October. The overall seasonal forecast for precipitation is mostly average, however, it will not be evenly distributed throughout the season.
The early season forecast will be primarily average for the month of May. In contrast, June is forecast to have a deficit rainfall over large parts of central and northeastern India. As the monsoon progresses into July and August, the outlook becomes more promising, with most regions expecting small rain surpluses. Overall, most areas will end the monsoon season with rainfall totals close to seasonal averages with near-normal to slightly above-normal temperatures.The full, detailed report can be downloaded for free at https://customweather.com/industry-solutions/agriculture/ with month-by-month details (pages 10-11), maps and in-depth analysis.Last year, CustomWeather’s Seasonal Climate Forecast for India’s 2018 monsoon season experienced a high level of accuracy, reinforcing CustomWeather’s reputation as a provider of precise, accurate weather data. In particular, the forecast correctly anticipated the below-normal rainfall in June and July for Assam and Arunachal Pradesh, above-average rainfall in July over Orissa, the below-normal rainfall that occurred in Rajasthan and Gujarat in August, and the below-normal rainfall that occurred over Southern India in September.
CustomWeather provides high resolution weather forecast and alert services. CustomWeather generates granular weather forecasts for over 200 countries worldwide, providing sophisticated weather services to leading companies in numerous industries including Insurance, Agriculture, Utilities, Oil and Gas, Offshore Drilling and Exploration, Transportation, Mobile, and Media. For more information, visit http://www.CustomWeather.com.

Be extra vigilant about heart attack symptoms during cold weather

Taipei, Taiwan Be extra vigilant about heart attack symptoms during cold weather. That’s the advice from the authors of a large Taiwanese study which found that heart attacks are more likely to strike when temperatures drop. The study is being presented at the Asian Pacific Society of Cardiology (APSC) Congress 2018.The congress, organised by the Taiwan Society of Cardiology, is being held 17 to 21 May in Taipei, Taiwan and includes visiting experts from the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) who are discussing key messages from the ESC guidelines. Dr Po-Jui Wu, study author and cardiologist, Kaohsiung Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Kaohsiung City, Taiwan, explained: “We found that the number of heart attacks (acute myocardial infarctions) fluctuated with the seasons, with more attacks occurring in winter compared to summer. Heart attacks increased dramatically when the temperature dropped below 15 degrees Celsius.”“When the temperature drops, people at high risk of a heart attack should be put on alert for symptoms such as chest pain and shortness of breath,” said Dr Wu. “At-risk groups include people who had a previous heart attack, the elderly, or those with risk factors such as diabetes, high blood pressure, smoking, obesity, and sedentary lifestyles. Heart attacks can cause people to die suddenly so it is essential to urgently seek medical assistance when symptoms occur.”
Professor Ian Graham, ESC prevention spokesperson, said: “Cold weather is an important environmental trigger for heart attack. Given that the risk is predictable, health authorities should allocate more resources for treating heart attack victims during cold weather. And people at risk of a heart attack should be more vigilant during cold weather and dial emergency at the first sign of symptoms.”This study assessed the association between climate and heart attack occurrence. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, it is the largest study on this topic in Taiwan. The study used three databases covering the period 2008 to 2011. This is the first time these three large databases have been combined to investigate the impact and interaction of weather on heart attack occurrence.The study included 40,524 heart attack patients from the Taiwan National Health Insurance Research Database (NHIRD) and 919,203 adults without a history of heart attack from the Longitudinal Health Insurance Database. Regional climate data was obtained from the Taiwan Central Weather Bureau.
The researchers looked at whether patients were more likely to have experienced certain climate factors before their heart attack than the participants who did not have a heart attack. They found that lower temperature, temperature fluctuations, and stronger wind separately increased the risk of having a heart attack the following day.
When the lowest temperature of the day was between 15 and 20 degrees Celsius, the relative incidence of acute myocardial infarction increased by 0.45% with each one degree of temperature drop. When the lowest temperature of the day was below 15 degrees Celsius, one degree of temperature drop was associated with a 1.6% of increase in the relative incidence of acute myocardial infarction in Taiwan.Dr Wu said: “Despite improved treatment for cardiovascular disease and almost 100% coverage of citizens by our national health insurance programme, the number of acute myocardial infarction patients is increasing and overall cardiovascular mortality is rising in Taiwan. We speculate that this is the result of societal ageing, extreme change of climate, and environmental pollution.” Dr Wu said health systems should send smartphone messages to high risk patients when adverse weather conditions are predicted, to warn them to be extra vigilant. Health systems should also be prepared to cope with more heart attack patients during cold weather.Professor Jiunn-Lee Lin, Chair of the APSC Congress 2018 and President, Taiwan Society of Cardiology, concluded: “This study from Taiwan adds important information on how to prevent acute myocardial infarction. During the congress we will hear the results of research from the Asia Pacific region and beyond covering all aspects of cardiovascular disease.” Professor Jeroen Bax, ESC President, said: “During the ESC programme in Taipei we will discuss more ways in which patients and health professionals can prevent heart attacks and other cardiovascular diseases.”

ClimaCell Raises $15 Million to Provide Weather Sensitive Industries with Military Grade Forecast Precision

ClimaCell, a software-based hyper-local weather forecasting company, announced that the company has closed $15 million in Series A funding. ClimaCell creates proprietary weather observation data from wireless networks that then feed into its models. The results pinpoint weather prediction down to city-block-level granularity in real-time and at one minute intervals 0-6 hours in the future for businesses and government agencies. Canaan led the financing round with participation from Fontinalis Partners, as well as existing investor Square Peg Capital. The latest investment will be used to accelerate ClimaCell’s expansion outside of the U.S., speed product development efforts and support new hires.“Nearly $3 trillion of the U.S. economy’s GDP is at risk due to weather every year and ClimaCell’s technology is poised to help verticals like aviation, insurance, financial services, logistics and defense change that,” said Rich Boyle, General Partner at Canaan who is joining ClimaCell’s board. “By shifting from forecasting to more accurate, granular, real-time predictions – what we call “nowcasting,” ClimaCell is changing the way massive industries assess, manage and make decisions around weather risk.”
ClimaCell’s current offerings, which serve customers in financial services, broadcast media, retail, construction, aviation, automotive and on-demand economy companies currently include, HyperCast™ a web-based interactive HD weather map, which provides street-level precision that is 10x better than other weather sources and BroadCast API™, which opens up ClimaCell’s unique weather sensing technology to be integrated with any digital enterprise or to be offered as part of any SaaS-based solution. “The ClimaCell team is excited about the opportunities in the market and the ability to rapidly scale our technology worldwide,” said Shimon Elkabetz, CEO and Co-Founder, ClimaCell. “We are thrilled about the support and confidence we have received from our investors and look forward to continuing to provide the most accurate weather data technologies to our customers.”While ClimaCell’s software serves a variety of industries, some of its most impactful and immediate use cases lie in the aviation and mobility sectors. As a result, the company has attracted investment from leading venture capital firms within each of these industries.ClimaCell’s technology also gives organizations across the mobility space a similar ability to reduce weather-related inefficiencies, and to incorporate real-time weather data into business processes. “Fontinalis invests in the most impactful companies across mobility,” said Chris Cheever, co-founder and partner at Fontinalis. “ClimaCell’s cutting-edge technology enables the mobility industry to harness weather data in entirely new ways, driving operational efficiencies and unlocking new value for businesses in mobility sub-sectors such as aviation, connected cars, logistics, on-demand services, and many others. We are excited about the opportunity and to be affiliated with this great team and group of investors.”