A warming Arabian Sea means cities around it, Dubai to Mumbai, are vulnerable to extreme weather. But what’s more extreme is that govts and companies are trying to fix the weather using tech
The unprecedented flood in Dubai on April 19 has ignited much-needed discussion on weather modification and geo-engineering. Theories on what caused the extreme rainfall include cloud seeding, global warming and poor drainage systems. So, what triggered the rains?
It wasn’t cloud seeding | Cloud seeding is an old weather-modification tech that induces rainfall by spraying chemicals such as silver iodide and common salt into clouds to make nuclei, around which the cloud’s moisture can condense, and form droplets. When sufficient droplets coalesce, they become heavy and fall as rain. It’s crucial to understand that cloud seeding cannot create rain from a clear sky – it needs clouds with sufficient moisture. Therefore, cloud seeding is generally used where clouds form, but it doesn’t rain. Similarly, cloud seeding cannot create more rain than what is already in the cloud.
The storm system that caused flooding in Dubai was too big to be influenced by six or seven cloud-seeding aeroplanes that UAE’s National Centre for Meteorology (NCM) flew days prior. This weather system had a massive amount of moisture and affected thousands of square kilometres, causing heavy rainfall over UAE, Oman, Bahrain, Qatar and Saudi Arabia. Some areas in Oman, like Mahda, got more rain than Dubai, and suffered maximum loss of life as well.
It wasn’t cloud seeding | Cloud seeding is an old weather-modification tech that induces rainfall by spraying chemicals such as silver iodide and common salt into clouds to make nuclei, around which the cloud’s moisture can condense, and form droplets. When sufficient droplets coalesce, they become heavy and fall as rain. It’s crucial to understand that cloud seeding cannot create rain from a clear sky – it needs clouds with sufficient moisture. Therefore, cloud seeding is generally used where clouds form, but it doesn’t rain. Similarly, cloud seeding cannot create more rain than what is already in the cloud.
The storm system that caused flooding in Dubai was too big to be influenced by six or seven cloud-seeding aeroplanes that UAE’s National Centre for Meteorology (NCM) flew days prior. This weather system had a massive amount of moisture and affected thousands of square kilometres, causing heavy rainfall over UAE, Oman, Bahrain, Qatar and Saudi Arabia. Some areas in Oman, like Mahda, got more rain than Dubai, and suffered maximum loss of life as well.