When talking about countries with the fastest-growing economy in Asia, The United Arab Emirate (UEA) will surely be on the podium of recognition. The country, most especially its populous city, Dubai is complemented by ultramodern architecture and magnificent skyscrapers.
Advances in research and technology have resulted in improvements in all aspects of human life, including our homes, offices, and even worship centers.
Have you ever wondered how cool it would be when you can influence rainfall? Well, thanks to the technology of Cloud seeding it’s now possible.
In this article, I will be bringing to your view, a technique used in Dubai to make artificial rainfall.
Dubai is a desert region, where the water demand is higher than the supply, leading to scarcity. Water is an essential part of life and to address this challenge, the government has to come up with cloud seeding.
Cloud seeding is a type of weather modification that aims to alter the amount of precipitation that falls from clouds by dispersing substances into the air that act as cloud condensation which can alter the microphysical process of the cloud.
The main idea behind cloud seeding is to increase the number of rain clouds in an area, which in turn leads to rainfall.
How Is It Done?
Seed Clouding can be done in three ways,
1. Use of chemicals like silver iodide, potassium iodide, liquid propane, etc.
2. Using Electric charges.
3. By using Infrared laser pulses.
The most common method is the use of chemicals, those chemicals are loaded into an airplane and dispersed into the cloud as they fly through it.
The method used in Dubai is the Electric Discharge Method, in July 2021 drones equipped with electric charge flew at a low altitude and discharged a payload of electricity into the cloud. The method produced a significant amount of rainfall of about 6.9milimeters.
Although the seed clouding method is expensive, I believe it will be a way out for landlocked countries of the world.