diff --git a/src/anemoi/inference/runners/parallel.py b/src/anemoi/inference/runners/parallel.py
index f73368e4..c13ccc90 100644
--- a/src/anemoi/inference/runners/parallel.py
+++ b/src/anemoi/inference/runners/parallel.py
@@ -276,6 +276,26 @@ def _bootstrap_processes(self) -> None:
                 LOG.warning(
                     f"world size ({self.config.world_size}) set in the config is ignored because we are launching via srun, using 'SLURM_NTASKS' instead"
                 )
+        elif "RANK" in os.environ and "WORLD_SIZE" in os.environ:
+            # TODO(refactor): Extract AzureML/general env bootstrap (RANK/WORLD_SIZE/LOCAL_RANK and
+            # MASTER_ADDR/MASTER_PORT wiring) into a delegated ClusterEnvironment
+            # (e.g., AzureMLEnvironment.bootstrap()) in a follow-up PR.
+            # New branch for Azure ML / general distributed env (e.g., env:// mode)
+            self.global_rank = int(os.environ["RANK"])
+            self.local_rank = int(
+                os.environ.get("LOCAL_RANK", self.global_rank)
+            )  # Fallback to global if LOCAL_RANK unset
+            self.world_size = int(os.environ["WORLD_SIZE"])
+            self.master_addr = os.environ.get("MASTER_ADDR")
+            self.master_port = os.environ.get("MASTER_PORT")
+            if self.master_addr is None or self.master_port is None:
+                raise ValueError(
+                    "MASTER_ADDR and MASTER_PORT must be set for distributed initialization (e.g., in Azure ML)"
+                )
+            if self.config.world_size != 1 and self.config.world_size != self.world_size:
+                LOG.warning(
+                    f"Config world_size ({self.config.world_size}) ignored; using WORLD_SIZE from environment ({self.world_size})"
+                )
         else:
             # If srun is not available, spawn procs manually on a node
 
@@ -377,19 +397,31 @@ def _init_parallel(self) -> Optional["torch.distributed.ProcessGroup"]:
                 else:
                     backend = "gloo"
 
-            dist.init_process_group(
-                backend=backend,
-                init_method=f"tcp://{self.master_addr}:{self.master_port}",
-                timeout=datetime.timedelta(minutes=3),
-                world_size=self.world_size,
-                rank=self.global_rank,
-            )
+            if backend == "mpi":
+                # MPI backend: No init_method or explicit sizes needed
+                dist.init_process_group(backend="mpi")
+                model_comm_group_ranks = np.arange(self.world_size, dtype=int)
+                model_comm_group = dist.new_group(model_comm_group_ranks)
+            else:
+                # TODO(refactor): Delegate backend + init_method selection and dist.init_process_group(...)
+                # to a ClusterEnvironment (e.g., env.init_parallel()) so ParallelRunner has no branching here.
+                if self._using_distributed_env():
+                    init_method = "env://"  # Azure ML recommended
+                else:
+                    init_method = f"tcp://{self.master_addr}:{self.master_port}"
+                dist.init_process_group(
+                    backend=backend,
+                    init_method=init_method,
+                    timeout=datetime.timedelta(minutes=3),
+                    world_size=self.world_size,
+                    rank=self.global_rank,
+                )
+                model_comm_group_ranks = np.arange(self.world_size, dtype=int)
+                model_comm_group = dist.new_group(model_comm_group_ranks)
             LOG.info(f"Creating a model communication group with {self.world_size} devices with the {backend} backend")
-
-            model_comm_group_ranks = np.arange(self.world_size, dtype=int)
-            model_comm_group = dist.new_group(model_comm_group_ranks)
         else:
             model_comm_group = None
+            LOG.warning("ParallelRunner selected but world size of 1 detected")
 
         return model_comm_group
 
@@ -406,3 +438,11 @@ def _get_parallel_info_from_slurm(self) -> tuple[int, int, int]:
         world_size = int(os.environ.get("SLURM_NTASKS", 1))  # Total number of processes
 
         return global_rank, local_rank, world_size
+
+    def _using_distributed_env(self) -> bool:
+        """Checks for distributed env vars like those in Azure ML."""
+        return "RANK" in os.environ and "WORLD_SIZE" in os.environ
+
+    def _is_mpi_env(self) -> bool:
+        """Detects common MPI implementations (optional, for generality)."""
+        return "OMPI_COMM_WORLD_SIZE" in os.environ or "PMI_SIZE" in os.environ