Relevance decay for time-based evaluation of machine learning applications

Relevance decay techniques are provided for time-based evaluation of machine learning applications and other classifiers. An exemplary method comprises obtaining time series measurement data; generating an input dataset comprising a plurality of records, wherein each record comprises features extracted from the time series measurement data, a target class corresponding to an event to be identified, and a time lag indicating a difference in time between a given extraction and the event to be identified; evaluating a plurality of classifiers during an evaluation phase using a portion of the input dataset and one or more predefined evaluation metrics weighted using a time-based relevance decay function based on the time lag; and selecting one or more of the classifiers to perform classification of the time series measurement data based on the predefined weighted evaluation metrics during a classification phase. The time lags indicate, for example, a time difference between classification moments of the plurality of classifiers and a respective instance of the event to be identified.