How soon can we expect rain in the UAE?

Gulf News

The UAE was one of the first countries in the Arabian Gulf to adopt cloud seeding technology. Daily headlines from the UAE and around the world brought to you by Gulf News. See more at: http://gulfnews.com/videos

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00:00Gulf News takes a closer look at the scientific process of cloud seeding in the UAE and what

00:06it all means.

00:07Over the last few years, the NCM was able to give Mother Nature a helping hand with

00:11some science and accelerate the annual rainfall with its cloud seeding project.

00:15The UAE was one of the first countries in the Arabian Gulf to adopt cloud seeding technology.

00:20The program initially began at the end of 1990, but by the end of 2000, the fully-fledged

00:26was carried out in cooperation with a number of organizations and institutes, including

00:30the U.S. space agency NASA.

00:32It's now standard practice for the NCM's cloud seeding section to use a sophisticated

00:36weather surveillance radar, or WSR, which is responsible for monitoring the atmospheric

00:41pressure around the clock.

00:43Cloud seeding missions can only be carried out with cumulus cloud formations, so once

00:47they're identified, the NCM will quickly launch aircrafts carrying salt crystals mixed

00:52with magnesium, sodium chloride and potassium chloride that are shot into the skies.

00:56The salt crystal flares then encourage the formation and release of cloud moisture, which

01:00then turn into precipitation.

01:02The cloud seeding mission is not constrained by seasons and is carried out throughout the

01:06year whenever seedable clouds are detected, so while the project may boost the amount

01:10of rainfall, it cannot take all the credit for all of the rainfall, as the global success

01:14rate of cloud seeding lies between 15 and 30 percent.

01:18While the rainmaking project continues to be studied by countries around the world,

01:22the UAE remains at the forefront in paving the way for international cloud seeding research.

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