Dubai and other emirates in the United Arab Emirates are creating rain through cloud seeding technology, hoping to bring year-around precipitation to the sun-baked land.
I’ve been to Dubai several times over the years during the summer months. The weather is always the same: extremely hot, often with only scattered clouds in the sky. During my recent visit, a hot morning suddenly turned into a stormy afternoon and evening. I was on a boat and as the clouds rolled in, thunder emanated from them. When I commented on it, my host said:
“Oh yeah, they’re manipulating the weather here. They seed the clouds.”
Apparently, this is not new technology nor exclusive to Dubai. The UAE has been experimenting in weather manipulation for two decades. But I certainly saw it on display for the first time…and loved it.
According to the Khaleej Times:
Although cloud seeding, which the UAE adopted in the early 1990s, is not an exact science, the process of shooting salt flares into the clouds has increased the chance of rain in the country by 15-25 per cent.
Since January, the National Centre of Meteorology has conducted over 100 missions and the results have been fruitful: more rain has fallen. The UAE averages only about 100mm of water per year.
Khalid Mohamed Al Obeidli, head of cloud seeding at the National Centre of Meteorology, added:
More rainfall will help ease the water stress, and cloud seeding is cheaper (costs around 1 fil per cubic metre of water produced as compared to 60 fils needed to desalinate the same amount of water) and more environment-friendly than desalination.
(A fil is like a cent…100 fils = 1 dirham)
Scientists cannot create clouds, only manipulate clouds to become storm clouds. Seeding will continue this summer.
CONCLUSION
Dubai is actually a destination I like to avoid this time of year due to the intense heat. That said, if cloud seeding brings rains (without intense humidity) and more temperate weather, I think Dubai and other emirates would draw a lot more tourists during the summer months.
Have you experienced weather manipulation before in Dubai?
It doesn’t create the clouds…so your observation of the clouds rolling in was unrelated.
Does it work? Jury is out.
Thailand has been doing this for some years, as has Australia ( no shortage of rain in either country; rather the issue is where it falls, hence the programs).
I did write that it doesn’t create the clouds, but I see my earlier paragraph was confusing. I’ve re-worded it. Thanks for the heads up.
Even if they manage to turn the desert into an oasis, it will remain a soulless dump and culturally barren.
Wrong.
You have no clue. The amount of accomplishment they have had in last half century is unbelievable. You need to go there and witness it yourself. They have made the most of the limited resources they have and have made few spectacular things
Other countries in the Gulf region have also adopted the same technology for a few years now and it seems to work very well for them.
While the effect it has on the weather is nice, it’s only a byproduct of the actual goal. These are countries that rely on desalination to provide clean water, a process that is extremely expensive and environmentally unfriendly. Using this technology to offset the cost and effects of desalination makes a lot of sense.
I believe the US government ran some cloud seeding experiments in the American Southwest some time ago. Results were inconclusive as I recall, i.e. it was impossible to determine if it was the cloud seeding that produced additional rainfall, or just a natural variation in the weather pattern. In any case, the concept makes me nervous. You mess with weather patterns, there’s no telling what kinds of unintended consequences might follow…
Right? I’ve seen Snowpiercer…I know what comes next.
I’m here son
I think it’s crazy how people think they can play Mother Nature and think eventually it’s going to have consequences the whole planet will have to pay for way to go guys . Thanks