Heavy rains cause havoc from UAE to Oman, has tampering with nature taken its toll? Know the reason for floods in the desert.
Heavy rains in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and its surrounding desert areas on Tuesday created a horrific situation. Water was visible everywhere in Dubai, one of the smartest cities in the world. The situation was such that Dubai International Airport had to be closed. Vehicles got stuck in water on the city highway and water entered from shopping malls to the metro station. According to the Guardian report, the rain started on Monday night and by Tuesday evening it rained as much water as it rains in an entire year and a half.
Before the UAE, Omani officials had warned of floods and said that the country had received the highest rainfall in the last 75 years. In such a situation, the question arises that what is the reason for such sudden heavy rain in the desert?
UAE’s government news agency WAM has called Tuesday’s rain a historic event. This is the highest rainfall in the country since data was collected in 1949. This means that there would have been more rainfall in the area before the discovery of oil. Experts are citing tampering with nature as the reason behind this. Recent rainfall and subsequent flooding in Dubai and other parts of the UAE is linked to cloud seeding occurring in the country, Bloomberg reports.
Dubai witnessed a year’s worth of rainfall in just 12 hours, as heavy thunderstorms swept through parts of the UAE. The intense downpours also resulted in the largest amount of rainfall in the country since 1949.#Dubai #UAE #Oman
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— Al Arabiya English (@AlArabiya_Eng) April 17, 2024
The United Arab Emirates is located in one of the hottest and driest regions on Earth. This country is ahead in using cloud seeding technology to increase rainfall. The main objective of this technology is to meet the water demand of the growing population and economy, which is diversifying into tourism and other sectors. The UAE began its cloud seeding operations in 2002. It focused on the structure of clouds during specific periods when they are most likely to produce additional rainfall.
The Bloomberg report quoted meteorologist Ahmed Habib as saying that planes were recently dispatched from Al-Ain airport for seeding.
What is cloud seeding?
Cloud seeding is the process which is done to create artificial rainfall. The process involves dropping substances such as silver iodide or potassium iodide into clouds using an aircraft or helicopter. The UAE’s National Meteorological Centre confirmed that seeding planes had flown seven times over two days to ensure maximum rainfall.