Graus centrígrados e padrões de compras

Tesco, the U.K.'s largest grocery chain, is using weather-forecasting software to help "reduce costs and avoid wasting food," reports Julia Werdigier in the New York Times (9/2/09). "Rapidly changing weather can be a real challenge," says Tesco's Jonathan Church. "The system successfully predicted temperature drops during July that led to a major increase in demand for soup, winter vegetables and cold-weather puddings."

The Tesco system, created by a six-person team, calculates changes in shopping patterns based on "every degree of temperature and every hour of sunshine." This is especially critical in Britain, "with downpours sometimes followed by sunshine within the same hour -- several times a day ... A temperature increase of 18 degrees generally triples sales of barbecue meat and increases demand for lettuce by 50 percent," for example.