Berlin-founded not-for-profit search engine Ecosia is partnering with weather forecaster AccuWeather.

Ecosia dedicates 100 per cent of its profits to the planet and has collaborated with local communities in over 35 countries to plant more than 200 million trees. 

In 2014 Ecosia was the first company in Germany to be accredited as a B Corporation and in 2017 it built the first of a growing portfolio of solar plants, which now produce enough energy to power all searches twice over.

In 2018 Ecosia gave away its shares to the Purpose Foundation, to assure that it can never be sold and that no one, including the founder, can profit or receive dividends from the company.

Check out our interview with Ecosia founder Christian Kroll, upon launching their eco-friendly browser earlier this year.

As part of the partnership, AccuWeather’s API has been integrated into Ecosia’s results for weather data, including location-specific current conditions, daily and hourly forecasts, and up-to-the-minute alerts.

Ecosia plans to use the new integration in its fight against climate change. Earlier this year, the search engine teamed up with Kanop to enhance its forest monitoring capabilities through satellite imagery and AI.

Significantly, the partnership expanded Ecosia’s access to real-time weather and climate data to help inform future locations of urban tree-planting projects. Ecosia has existing projects in the US that focus on urban tree planting in historically red-lined areas to address the community’s heat and health challenges.

The data will help Ecosia identify areas with highly high urban temperatures (also known as heat islands) and areas with low or no tree cover. 

Ecosia’s UK team is also planning to use AccuWeather data to in part monitor the health of its NHS tree-planting projects, which were planted in 2020 as a tribute to the UK’s health service during the COVID pandemic. 

“We have seen a surge in weather and climate-related searches over the past few years, and at Ecosia, it’s been a drive for our product team to provide a tool that better informs our users about live weather conditions wherever they live. Most recently, the heatwaves in the United States have been of particular interest to our community and to our team working on urban ecosystems,” said Christian Kroll, CEO at Ecosia.

“We know that trees can help. In fact, they can cool their surroundings by up to 12°C by providing shade and bringing moisture back into the air.”

AccuWeather Chief Meteorologist Jonathan Porter:

“We’ve seen with climate change that severe weather threats, including extreme heat, are happening outside of the time of year and places that people typically associate with heat waves.

Do not be lulled into any false sense of security. A severe weather event can develop anywhere when the ingredients come together.”