The United Arab Emirates has turned to weather engineering and cloud seeding in an effort to address its chronic water shortage, a local research director has said.
Cloud seeding is a costly operation, with the UAE spending millions annually to boost its freshwater supplies. Pilots fly into promising clouds and release salt particles to stimulate rainfall in a country that receives less than 100mm of rain per year.
The technique is part of the country’s adaptation strategy to face climate change, Alya Al Mazrouei, director of the UAE Research Program for Rain Enhancement Science (UAEREP), told the Financial Times on Monday.
However, the method has sparked controversy as critics warn it could exacerbate extreme weather events, such as flooding and droughts, by altering natural weather patterns.
They also express concerns about the environmental impact of the chemicals used and the potential unintended consequences of artificially modifying the weather.
Orestes Morfin, a senior expert at the Climate and Water Initiative in Arizona, told the outlet that cloud seeding is seen as an additional potential tool for boosting water supply.
Scientists at the UAE’s National Centre of Meteorology estimated in a 2023 study that cloud seeding could add up to 419 million cubic meters of harvestable water per year.
Water scarcity is a longstanding challenge for the UAE, which relies heavily on desalination for drinking water. Since the early 2000’s, UAE authorities have been working to increase rainfall through artificial means.
Currently, the UAE’s rain enhancement program operates with ten pilots and four aircraft, ready to deploy around the clock. Whenever we have the opportunity to do it… we don’t usually miss any opportunity, Al Mazrouei said.
The operation is expensive, costing $8,000 per flight hour and averaging 1,100 flight hours per year, totaling nearly $9 million.
However, Al Mazrouei argues that the cost per cubic meter of additional water is lower than for desalination. The UAE has invested $22.5 million in research grants to improve the technology.
RT. com / ABC Flash Point News 2025.
The West has ruined the world’s natural ecosystem, sent many diverse animal species into extinction and paved the way for a disrupted weather cycle through climate abnormalities.
The Middle East and Africa are some of the worst affected regions in the world when it comes to water scarcity, uneven rainfall and agricultural losses.
Originally the plan was to tow icebergs to containment/ catch basins. Whatever happened to that idea? Sweden even built boats for that job, some of the highest HP units at that time.
Ought maybe be a bit suspicious of folks spraying things in the air. Good way to spread disease, famine, and death. Nature is perfect in every way. Nature will leave a small percentile of us to carry on as well. Don’t worry it’s you that will survive.
As an added bonus we will build nuclear reactors to hasten the process. Earth will be so glad when we leave.
Well didnt UAE allowed Zionuts into their lands as part of «Abraham Accords», the same guys who lecture Iran about water problem while their own lack water ?