Man-made flood in Dubai? How “cloud seeding” works | EUROtoday

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Over 140 millimeters of rain in 24 hours in an space that on common receives 95 millimeters of rain in a 12 months. The violent storm that hit Dubai on April 16 left meteorologists astounded. Roads flooded, automobiles swept away, one of many busiest airports on the earth pressured to shut for half an hour, residents stranded of their properties and places of work.

It was really an excessive phenomenon and consultants are questioning concerning the causes. The debate is specializing in an exercise that the United Arab Emirates and past have been utilizing for a while: “cloud seeding”.

What is cloud seeding

The seeding happens by using airplanes that inject particles of salt or silver iodide into the clouds, in order to type ice crystals that condense into rain or snow, relying on the altitude. According to the World Meteorological Organization, below optimum circumstances, seeding can improve rainfall from a single cloud by as much as 20 p.c.

Are heavy rains in Dubai because of cloud seeding?

The UAE has been utilizing sowing since at the least 2002 to deal with drought issues. The emirate's National Meteorological Center mentioned it had seeded clouds from April 14 to fifteen, however not on April 16, the day of the flood. It is due to this fact sure that this method was used on the eve of the storm, however it’s much less clear to what extent it contributed to the unprecedented quantity of rain that fell on the monetary and industrial hub of the Gulf.

How efficient is cloud seeding?

Cloud seeding doesn't work out of skinny air: chemical substances should be injected into present clouds. It has confirmed efficient when focusing on rain clouds in mountainous areas – in different phrases, when aiming to extend rainfall. However, there’s conflicting scientific proof concerning its effectiveness on clouds that will not carry rain, in low-lying areas, and through droughts.