The United Arab Emirates (UAE) had very strong rainstorms and windy weather over the weekend. This weather caused damage to buildings and made it hard for people to do their usual activities. This weather condition is due to cloud seeding.
The National Center of Meteorology (NCM) has told people to be careful because more rain is expected in different parts of the country. In Dubai, they stopped night swimming at the beaches on Sunday because the weather is changing a lot.
On Friday, there was really bad weather in UAE. There was heavy rain and hail in Al Ain, and then there were dust storms, thunder, and rain in Dubai, Sharjah, and Ajman on Saturday.
From what many people are saying, the recent changes in weather happened because of UAE’s plan to do “cloud-seeding.”In the arid landscapes of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), where water is scarce. Water scarcity is a significant challenge in the UAE due to its desert environment and limited freshwater sources. They use this to try and make more rain so there’s enough water in the country.
In the past 13 years, the UAE has done lots of cloud-seeding missions. They do this to make more rain come into their region. Have you ever wondered how they do cloud seeding?
Cloud Seeding:
Cloud seeding technology involves introducing substances like silver iodide or potassium iodide into clouds to trigger the condensation of water vapor into droplets. These droplets then join together, becoming heavier and eventually falling as rain. This process mimics what happens naturally in the atmosphere, but it accelerates the formation of raindrops, leading to increased precipitation.
It itself does not directly cause thunder and lightning. However, in some cases, it might contribute to the conditions that could lead to thunderstorm development.
The UAE has spent $18 million, which is about Dh66 million, on making more rain. They use modern technology to make rain more likely to happen. Dr. Alya Saeed Al Mazroui, who works at the UAE Research Program for Rain Enhancement Science, says this technology helps.
“The water underground is going down a lot in the UAE,” said a professor and weather expert named Maarten Ambaum. He talked to BBC News and said that this technology is used to try and make more rain.
The UAE is one of the first countries in the Gulf area to use cloud seeding. In the western United States, at least eight states use a similar idea, according to The Scientific American.
