UAE: Parched UAE turns to science to squeeze more rainfall from clouds – Gulf Digital News

UAE: Parched UAE turns to science to squeeze more rainfall from clouds – Gulf Digital News

ABU DHABI - As a twin-turboprop aircraft takes off under the burning desert sun with dozens of salt canisters attached to its wings, United Arab Emirates meteorological official Abullah al-Hammadi scans weather maps on computers screens for cloud formations.

At 9,000 feet above sea level, the plane releases salt flares into the most promising white clouds, hoping to trigger rainfall.

"Cloud seeding requires the existence of rainy clouds, and this is a problem as it is not always the case," said Hamadi, head of rain enhancement operations in the UAE's National Centre for Meteorology.

The UAE, located in one of the hottest and driest regions on earth, has been leading the effort to seed clouds and increase precipitation, which remains at less than 100 millimetres (3.9 inches) a year on average.

The effects of climate change, combined with a growing population and economy diversifying into tourism and other areas have pushed up demand for water in the UAE, which has relied on expensive desalination plants that make use of seawater.

Officials say they believe cloud seeding can help. Scientists in Abu Dhabi combine shooting hygroscopic, or water-attracting, salt flares with releasing salt nanoparticles, a newer technology, into the clouds to stimulate and accelerate the condensation