Two of the world's largest technology firms, IBM and Microsoft are vying to tap the fast-growing market of forecasting air quality in the world's top carbon emitters.

This month, Beijing authorities had to declare two unprecedented red alerts due to bouts of acrid smog that enveloped the Chinese capital. 

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Official interest has also been boosted by China's preparations for the Winter Olympics, which they will be hosting in 2022. 

"There is a great increase in attention to the air quality forecast service, especially since more and more people are starting to care about this kind of information technology." said Microsoft researcher, Yu Zheng.

U.S. Geochemist, Dustin Grzesik, also pioneered the rudimentary forecast website called Banshirne.com in 2013, along with his own app of the same name, both the website and the app was were created to predict clean air days using publicly available weather data based on Beijing's wind patterns.

Meanwhile, Microsoft and IBM both secured their first government client just last year after they developed their respective pollution forecasting technologies at their China-based research laboratories.

The two tech rivals are also competing over business clients, specifically renewable power generation companies as well as private clients, Microsoft recently launched an app called Urban Air, which shows a 48-hour forecast for cities in China. Meanwhile, the China Open Tennis Tournament installed IBM's two-day pollution forecast in parks across the country as well as on their public WeChat social messaging account.

As of to date, more than 30 of China's solar farms, which can help predict the availability of sunlight, are using IBM's forecasting technology.

Tagschina weather, Weather Forecasting