- Dubai is hit by its worst storm in decades
- More rain fell in a few hours than in several years
- Cloud seeding is a dangerous game of messing with nature
Dubai is hit by its worst storm in decades
The United Arab Emirates (UAE), and in particular its largest city, Dubai, has been hit by a huge storm that some experts believe is the result of dangerous cloud seeding.
The severe storm in the hot, sunny desert oasis even led Dubai's main international airport to divert all incoming aircraft on Tuesday. Heavy rains in the city caused severe flooding, and the last planes to land at the airport landed in the water - the runways had already turned into rivers. Emirates UAE Airlines has announced that it will suspend check-in for passengers departing from Dubai from 08:00 local time on Wednesday until midnight on Thursday.
Dubai's city center was also quickly flooded. The main shopping malls, Dubai Mall and Mall of the Emirates, were submerged, and the water level in Dubai Metro stations rose rapidly. Schools were closed across the UAE, and civil servants mostly worked remotely. Many employees of other private companies also stayed at home.
Roads turned into rivers, and the authorities sent tankers to the streets and highways to pump out the water[1]. The rushing water flooded homes and businesses.
The torrential rains, which caused flooding across the UAE, also affected neighboring Qatar, Bahrain, and Oman. The death toll has risen to 18 after the discovery of a child's body in Oman on Tuesday, with two people missing.
This weather spree in the region is attributed to a larger storm system crossing the Arabian Peninsula and moving through the Gulf of Oman. The same system has also brought unusually wet weather to south-eastern Iran.
However, the situation is believed to have been exacerbated by the UAE's direct attempt to cause rain, known as cloud seeding. This was something the country's authorities were engaged in just a few days ago.
More rain fell in a few hours than in several years
Dubai, like other parts of the UAE, has a hot and dry climate, so rainfall is very rare. This is why many areas have relatively limited infrastructure in place to cope with extreme events.
And now, a violent storm in the UAE has brought more than a year and a half's worth of rainfall in just a few hours.
According to meteorological data collected at Dubai International Airport, the downpour started late on Monday with around 20 mm of rain.
The storms intensified around 9 am on Tuesday and continued throughout the day. By the end of Tuesday, more than 142 mm of rain had fallen in Dubai[2].
According to the World Meteorological Organisation, Dubai receives an average annual rainfall of 3.12 cm, which is the equivalent of two years' worth of rain in 24 hours.
This means that the United Arab Emirates has received the highest daily rainfall in modern history since climate records began in 1949.
Normally, the UAE receives almost all of its annual rainfall between November and March. On average, Dubai receives just 0.13 cm of rain in April[3].
Cloud seeding is a dangerous game of messing with nature
In the 1980s and early 1990s, the UAE introduced the practice of cloud seeding to tackle the problems of water scarcity and humidity in what is normally a very dry country.
This technique aims to increase the amount of water that falls from clouds. It involves identifying suitable clouds and then using planes or ground-based generators to inject a chemical into them that facilitates the formation of precipitation.
The success of cloud seeding depends on specific meteorological conditions, including the presence of moisture-bearing clouds and the right wind patterns[4]. Some countries fight against such methods as chemtrails and cloud seeding.
The main objective of this process is to promote rainfall in the targeted regions or to alleviate drought conditions. The approach influences weather patterns to achieve agricultural, environmental, and water resource management objectives.
Cloud seeding has been used repeatedly in various countries around the world, including the western states of the USA, which are often affected by drought, such as California, Nevada or Texas.
The UAE, located in one of the hottest and driest regions of the Earth, is one of the first to use cloud seeding technology to increase rainfall. In the Gulf region, rainfall averages less than 100 millimeters annually. Other countries in the region, including Saudi Arabia and Oman, are also adopting similar technologies.
However, these activities have long been a source of controversy, both in the region and globally. Critics of the method argue that it is simply a way for countries to "play God", manipulate nature and damage both the environment and global society.
Rain destined for one region can be diverted to cause drought elsewhere. In addition, areas where cloud seeding is used usually do not have the infrastructure to accommodate the additional rainfall, which often leads to flooding and destruction of nature and wildlife. According to some scientists, the use of the chemical silver iodide also has a long-term impact on the ecosystem: it can lead to ocean acidification, ozone depletion, and an increase in carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.
On the other hand, some scientists say they have never documented any harmful effects of cloud seeding, and recent studies show that the practice is effective.
However, it is now believed that the UAE's cloud seeding operations contributed directly to this week's storm. Ahmed Habib, a meteorologist at the UAE's National Meteorological Centre, says that two UAE aircraft carried out cloud seeding operations on Monday and Tuesday, with as many as seven seeding missions carried out over the two days.
