There’s no denying that it’s sweltering in Dubai. The summers are especially scorching hot, with temperatures soaring beyond 50 degrees. How to cool things down? Why not create artificial rain! Yes, as unbelievable as it may sound, but Dubai is investing millions to create artificial rain with cloud seeding.
How Did They Do It?
The ingenious idea now seems to be working, and Dubai is experiencing a heavy downpour. According to the UAE’s Centre of Meteorology, artificial rainfall was created using cloud seeding.
Believe it or not, the innovative technology includes giving shock to clouds, which results in clumping of clouds causing heavy rain. The UAE receives very little rainfall, and the ongoing cloud seeding efforts are to generate additional rainfall in the country scorched by heat.
Dubai has been working on the artificial rainfall project for several years. Since 2015 it has reportedly spent around $15 million in various projects for artificial rain.
To create artificial rain, drones are launched in the sky, releasing chemicals such as silver iodide into the atmosphere, causing heavy rain. Another tactic involved is releasing charge into the clouds, which causes cloud clumping and downpours.
According to Dubai’s authorities, they have launched drones 126 times this year to create artificial rain. Although the actual results of these experiments are somewhat elusive, the UAE’s National Meteorological Center has posted several images and videos of a downpour on its official Twitter handle.
But There Is Downside Too
One may think that creating artificial rain could have been really beneficial to a country facing intense heat waves. But reports have been surfacing that the rain is creating concerns too. The main problem is that the rain is too unpredictable and much heavier, and its unusual frequency is now causing concern among the Emirates Residents.
A local media outlet, ‘National News’, has reported the ill effect of cloud seeding. For two weeks, heavy rainfall hit several parts of Dubai, and the downpour has disrupted mobility. Besides, heavy winds, dust clouds, and reduced visibility worsen the condition. According to the media outlet, the heavy rainfall coupled with deteriorating weather conditions ( dust storms and fierce winds) wreaked havoc on the areas adjacent to the desert.
