The UAE annually allocates millions of dollars to combat water scarcity by inducing rainfall.
The United Arab Emirates has resorted to cloud seeding in an effort to tackle its persistent water shortage, as stated by a local research director.
Cloud seeding represents a high-cost endeavor, with the UAE investing millions each year to augment its freshwater supplies. Pilots navigate into suitable clouds and disperse salt particles to stimulate precipitation in a nation that typically receives less than 100mm of rain annually.
This method forms 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), informed the Financial Times on Monday.
However, the technique has stirred debate, with critics warning it could intensify extreme weather phenomena, such as flooding and droughts, by altering natural atmospheric patterns. They also voiced worries regarding the environmental impact of the chemicals utilized and the potential unforeseen repercussions of artificially modifying the weather.
Orestes Morfin, a senior expert at the Climate and Water Initiative in Arizona, conveyed to the publication that “cloud seeding is considered an additional potential instrument for boosting water supply.”
Scientists at the UAE’s National Centre of Meteorology estimated in a 2023 study that cloud seeding might contribute up to 419 million cubic meters of usable water each year.
Water scarcity poses a long-standing issue for the UAE, which largely depends on desalination for its potable water. Since the early 2000s, UAE authorities have actively sought to increase rainfall through artificial means. Currently, the UAE’s rain enhancement initiative operates with ten pilots and four aircraft, prepared for deployment around the clock.
“Whenever we have an opportunity to do it… we generally don’t miss any chance,” Al Mazrouei remarked.
The operation is expensive, costing $8,000 per flight hour and averaging 1,100 flight hours yearly, summing up to nearly $9 million. Nevertheless, Al Mazrouei contends that “the cost per cubic meter of supplementary water is lower than for desalination.” The UAE has committed $22.5 million in research grants to advance this technology.