Will AI replace Atmospheric and Space Scientists?
AI reaches most of this job’s work.
60/100
Very high exposure
More exposed to AI than 92% of US workers.
- AI already used in
- 4% of the work
- As AI tools mature: up to
- 86% of the work
What the job involves
Investigate atmospheric phenomena and interpret meteorological data, gathered by surface and air stations, satellites, and radar to prepare reports and forecasts for public and other uses. Includes weather analysts and forecasters whose functions require the detailed knowledge of meteorology.
Where AI reaches the work
The job’s main tasks, heaviest first, by how far AI reaches them.
Already happening(1)
- Gather data from sources such as surface or upper air stations, satellites, weather bureaus, or radar for use in meteorological reports or forecasts.
Within reach(21)
- Interpret data, reports, maps, photographs, or charts to predict long- or short-range weather conditions, using computer models and knowledge of climate theory, physics, and mathematics.
- Formulate predictions by interpreting environmental data, such as meteorological, atmospheric, oceanic, paleoclimate, climate, or related information.
- Conduct meteorological research into the processes or determinants of atmospheric phenomena, weather, or climate.
- Develop or use mathematical or computer models for weather forecasting.
- Prepare forecasts or briefings to meet the needs of industry, business, government, or other groups.
and 16 more
Out of reach(5)
- Perform managerial duties, such as creating work schedules, creating or implementing staff training, matching staff expertise to situations, or analyzing performance of offices.
- Direct forecasting services at weather stations or at radio or television broadcasting facilities.
- Teach college-level courses on topics such as atmospheric and space science, meteorology, or global climate change.
- Conduct wind assessment, integration, or validation studies.
- Collect air samples from planes or ships over land or sea to study atmospheric composition.
Also called
Forecaster · Meteorologist · Weather Forecaster · Warning Coordination Meteorologist · General Forecaster · Hydrometeorological Technician (Hydrometeorological Tech) · Service Hydrologist · Aerologist
Related jobs
What these numbers mean
The score is the share of this job’s work, weighted by how important and frequent each task is, that AI could do in half the time: tasks an AI model could do alone count in full, tasks that need software built on AI count half.
“AI already used” is the share of the work in tasks where people are recorded using AI today. “As AI tools mature” counts every task AI could halve, with or without extra software.
The percentile compares the score with every job’s, weighted by how many people in the US do each one. Exposure means AI could change how the work is done, not that the job goes away. These are estimates for the typical job, not predictions.
Sources
- O*NET 31.0 Database, U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration
- GPTs are GPTs: Labor market impact potential of LLMs (task labels), Eloundou, Manning, Mishkin & Rock (2023), OpenAI and University of Pennsylvania
- Anthropic Economic Index: labor market impacts (task penetration), Anthropic
- Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025 (national and metropolitan areas), U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics