Keeping an eye on current weather conditions is something a lot of us do, and there are ample ways to get real-time weather information on the Ubuntu desktop.
The GNOME Weather desktop app (available in the Ubuntu repos) is a great tool. You can open the app to check the weather info (for any location you like) and it integrates with the message tray to show a 4-day weather forecast.
But if you want to be able to see current weather on the Ubuntu desktop without the hassle of opening an app or clicking an icon to show a pop-up menu, check out the Weather or Not GNOME extension.
Weather or Not shows the current weather conditions and temperature in the top panel. Clicking on the panel icon opens the GNOME Weather app so that you can get dive deeper into more detail:
It is a fork of the Weather O’Clock extension I featured on omg! linux a few months back. That extension combines the weather forecast with the clock applet so when you click either element the notification area/message tray opens with the forecast visible.
This one doesn’t do that – but it has its own merits.
Weather or Not is aimed at with GNOME Weather install who also want weather info to be visible on the desktop. Plus, in Ubuntu 23.10 (and other Linux distros with GNOME 45+) its possible to choose where the weather indicator sits in the panel:
As mentioned, you need to install GNOME Weather on Ubuntu and configure it (choose to display the temperature in Celsius or Fahrenheit, and select a specific location to monitor the weather conditions) for this extension to work, and you also need an active internet connection.
This is not the only tool of its type. I’ve looked at Ubuntu weather apps and extensions before so, before anyone comments to tell it, I’m aware X, Y, and Z were released first/have more features/don’t require GNOME Weather/etc.
But if all you need is glanceable weather info in the Ubuntu top panel, powered by the GNOME Weather app you already have installed, check this extension out.