The UAE is moving at the forefront of weather modification science in an attempt to counter its arid climate and water shortage issues

On 9th March 2016, the UAE experienced 287 millimetres of rain across Al Ain and Dubai. It is said to be the highest recorded rainfall in a single day since the country started recording such data in 1977.

For a desert country with predominantly dry weather, the torrential shower was quite a surprise, especially to those living in the affected areas.

According to the National Centre for Meteorology and Seismology (NCMS), it was actually a combination of nature and science, with cloud seeding playing a major role in triggering the record-breaking downpour.

Up in the clouds

Cloud seeding is not a new practice in the UAE. Since the first project in February 1982, NCMS has been gradually carrying out operations throughout the country since the early 2000s.

“The goal is of course to extract more rain from the clouds, and we’ve continuously conducted many studies to validate the benefits from these operations,” Omar Al Yazeedi, director of research, development and training at NCMS, tells us.

Cloud seeding is a form of weather modification that enhances the amount of precipitation in clouds. Here in the UAE, Beechcraft C90 King Air planes are deployed to spray the atmosphere with salt crystals mixed with potassium, sodium chloride and magnesium.

These particles then form ice crystals that are too heavy to remain suspended in the air, causing them to fall and melt on the way down to become rain.

“The window for this operation is very small. The clouds could develop then dissipate in less than an hour so we have minimum seeding time,” explains Omar.

Overflowing benefits

Cloud seeding has various purposes: Some countries resort to it to suppress hail formation to save potential crops and property from damage, dissipate fog, alter hurricanes and even decrease chances of lightning.

For the UAE, it is a means to boost rain to benefit farmlands, increase water supply and recharge underground water. It is estimated that cloud seeding operations can boost rainfall in the country by anywhere from ten to 35 percent.

The agency conducted 242 cloud seeding operations in 2017 alone, an increase from the 177 in 2016.

More improvements

For all its hype, cloud seeding is not a perfect science and experts continue to debate on its effectiveness in actually boosting rain output.

To help advance the science, the government launched the UAE Research Program for Rain Enhancement Science initiative in 2015. The aim is to gather innovative projects from scientists in the field of rain enhancement from all over the world.

Early this year, a UAE research team led by Dr Linda Zou, professor at Masdar Institute of Science and Technology, applied for a US patent for the team’s cloud-seeding method using nanotechnology properties to increase cloud condensation.

To find out more about cloud seeding and local initiatives, visit: ncm.ae, uaerep.ae

WORDS Ferdinand Godinez