Arid UAE turns to science to squeeze more rain out of clouds

ABU DHABI, Aug 30 (Reuters) – United Arab Emirates weather officer Abullah al-Hammadi, a twin-turboprop plane with dozens of salt canisters mounted on its wings, took off in the blazing desert sun. Scan the weather map on your computer screen for clouds.

At 9,000 feet, the plane unleashed a salt flare into the most promising white clouds, hoping to trigger rain.

“Cloud seeding requires the presence of rainy clouds, which is a problem because that’s not always the case,” said Al Hammadi, head of rain enhancement operations at the UAE’s National Meteorological Centre.

Located in one of the hottest and driest regions on Earth, the UAE has struggled to seed clouds and increase precipitation, which still averages less than 100 mm (3.9 inches) per year.

The impact of climate change, coupled with a growing population and the diversification of the economy into tourism and other sectors, has pushed up water demand in the UAE, which has relied on expensive desalination plants that harness seawater.

Officials say they believe cloud seeding can help. Scientists in Abu Dhabi have combined hygroscopic or water-absorbing salt flares with the release of salt nanoparticles into clouds (a new technique) to stimulate and speed up the condensation process, and hope to produce droplets large enough to then act like rain fall.

“Cloud seeding increases rainfall by about 10% to 30% per year…According to our calculations, the cost of cloud seeding operations is much lower than the desalination process,” Hammadi said.

Other countries in the region, including Saudi Arabia and Iran, have announced similar plans as they face historic droughts.

Edward Graham, a meteorologist at the University of the Highlands and Islands in the United Kingdom, said the salt used in the UAE for cloud seeding would not be harmful to the environment.

“In terms of carbon footprint, the planes flying into the clouds are just small planes, a drop in the ocean compared to the billions of cars on the planet and the large planes that do international air travel every day,” he added.

Pilots stationed at Al Ain airport in the United Arab Emirates must be ready to take off, flying over the red-yellow desert and guiding their planes into the clouds on the screens of meteorologists.

“Cloud seeding is considered the second biggest challenge for pilots,” said one pilot, Ahmed al-Jaberi. “When there are clouds, we try to figure out our way in and out of the clouds to avoid thunderstorms or hail.”

Written by Aziz El Yaakoubi; Edited by Alex Richardson

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