Dubai Uses Cloud Seeding Technology to Produce Rain and Combat Sweltering 122ºF Heat

[Disir]

Scientists in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) are attempting to enhance rainfall in the dry country by zapping clouds with electricity using new drone technology.

According to The Independent, the rainmaking technique, known as "cloud seeding," was put to action as summer temperatures in Dubai soared over 48 degrees Celsius (120 degrees Fahrenheit).

Drone technology is used in Dubai's cloud seeding process, according to the report. The drones send an electrical charge into the clouds, which causes them to cluster and rain.

Dubai Uses Cloud Seeding Technology to Produce Rain and Combat Sweltering 122ºF Heat

The artificial rain in Dubai, UAE is created using drone technology that unleashes electrical charges into clouds in order for them to clump together and form precipitation.

www.sciencetimes.com

The problem is that it is also bad for the environment according to this:

How Dubai Created Artificial Rain With Cloud Seeding - News18

Cloud seeding is a method through which clouds are injected with chemicals or zapped by electricity to create fake rain.

www.news18.com

 

[surada]

Scientists in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) are attempting to enhance rainfall in the dry country by zapping clouds with electricity using new drone technology.

According to The Independent, the rainmaking technique, known as "cloud seeding," was put to action as summer temperatures in Dubai soared over 48 degrees Celsius (120 degrees Fahrenheit).

Drone technology is used in Dubai's cloud seeding process, according to the report. The drones send an electrical charge into the clouds, which causes them to cluster and rain.

Dubai Uses Cloud Seeding Technology to Produce Rain and Combat Sweltering 122ºF Heat

The artificial rain in Dubai, UAE is created using drone technology that unleashes electrical charges into clouds in order for them to clump together and form precipitation.

www.sciencetimes.com

The problem is that it is also bad for the environment according to this:

How Dubai Created Artificial Rain With Cloud Seeding - News18

Cloud seeding is a method through which clouds are injected with chemicals or zapped by electricity to create fake rain.

www.news18.com

Why is it bad for the environment?

 

[surada]

Excerpt:

Explaining the process, Kondala Murali Mohan, a scientist with Krishi Vigyan Kendra (Medak), said: “Cloud seeding is a process to create artificial rain. Here, chemicals like silver iodide, potassium iodide and dry ice are sent to the atmosphere through helicopters or planes.

These particles attract the water vapour in the air, leading to the formation of cumulonimbus clouds and finally rain. It generally takes half-an-hour to produce rainfall by this method. The time taken to generate rain depends on which portion of the cloud the chemicals are being injected into. Zapping the top layers gives the fastest results.”

HARMFUL EFFECTS ON ENVIRONMENT
However, these experiments are harmful to the environment. The scientist added: “The method can lead to acidification of the oceans, ozone layer depletion and an increase in the levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide. Silver is a heavy, toxic metal and it harms the health of plants, humans and animals.

Cloud seeding is also a costly method. A foot of rainfall costs around USD 200.”

With so many side-effects, is the process worth it? “India is an agricultural country. When there are droughts and standing crops in the fields, cloud seeding can help to bring some respite. But it is not advisable in the long run,” said Murali.

Throwing more light on this method to manipulate the climate, weather blogger Sai Praneeth B, who goes by the name ‘Andhra Pradesh Weatherman’ on Twitter, said: “Clouds start precipitating at a point called Lifted Condensation Level. In cloud seeding, chemicals like silver iodide and hygroscopic salts are used as catalysts to reach that level.

After that, the cloud molecules coalesce to form bigger ones that lead to rainfall. Recently, such experiments were carried out at Rayalaseema region in Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka.”

Stating that such experiments can lead to ecological imbalances, he adds: “For example, coastal Andhra region receives ample rainfall while Rayalaseema is an arid region.

By manufacturing showers in the latter region on a day when it was not supposed to rain naturally, we are affecting the natural rainfall the coastal areas received that day.

Cloud seeding is still in the experimental stage. I feel that the outcomes are not great compared to the cost and effort the whole exercise requires.” It is interesting to note here that Karnataka’s two-year cloud seeding project cost the state a whopping Rs 89 crore.

 

[MarathonMike]

Cloud seeding has been around for decades. I don't understand why so little has been done in the scientific community to try and generate rain. Perhaps climate scientists have been distracted with other pursuits all these years.

 

[miketx]

I wish they'd show temperatures in Kelvin and Braille too!

 

[ReinyDays]

Cloud seeding has been around for decades. I don't understand why so little has been done in the scientific community to try and generate rain. Perhaps climate scientists have been distracted with other pursuits all these years.

Cloud seeding hasn't been show to work very well ... a little, but not much ... the theory relies on a shortage of nucleation sites in the atmosphere, thus allowing for extensive areas of super-saturated conditions ... dumping nucleation materials in to the clouds, like potassium chloride, would then cause the super-saturation condition to correct itself ... making more rain than what would have formed otherwise ...

It appears the flaw is assuming these nucleation materials are limited, when if fact they are quite abundant ... these super-saturation conditions are rare in the atmosphere ... all the scientific research that can be done in this matter has already been done, not much else to say ... cloud seeding doesn't work ... period ... at best we can coax a little more rain out of clouds that are already raining ...

There's some other details involved ... notably cloud seeding is only effective above 0ºC ... below that temperature water vapor deposits directly as ice, and ice is self-nucleating ... yeah, roughly 90% of all rainfall is melted snow ... and also that deserts are dry, which causes them to be hot; not the other way around ...

 

[Sunsettommy]

According to The Independent, the rainmaking technique, known as "cloud seeding," was put to action as summer temperatures in Dubai soared over 48 degrees Celsius (120 degrees Fahrenheit).

Can generate cloud seeding clouds while temperature is that high.

Yeah riiight!!!

 

[ReinyDays]

Can generate cloud seeding clouds while temperature is that high.

Yeah riiight!!!

No way does 48ºC air have enough water vapor ... this is RHs in the single digits ... the crap that people believe ...