The other day my sister asked me. Why is it raining here in United Arab Emirates? I explained to her that I read in newspapers that it is raining here in UAE due to cloud seeding. She was curious and asked me to explain further. So let me share my knowledge of Cloud seeding with you.

Cloud seeding is simply a method of artificially encouraging a cloud to produce rain. Just like a farmer sowing seeds in the field, which later grow to crops, in cloud seeding the clouds are filled with ‘seeds’ to later fall as rain. 

The most common chemicals used for cloud seeding include silver iodide, potassium iodide and dry ice (solid carbon dioxide). Using planes fitted with seeding flares, trained pilots fire salt crystals into clouds to improve condensation and form droplets that could fall as rain.

Cloud seeding is used across the world to battle droughts and weather extremities.

UAE receives less than 100 millimetres of annual rainfall. UAE has no rivers too. And it obtains practically all its drinking water from desalination, which is expensive.

Cloud-seeding is much cheaper by comparison, costing around 1 cent per cubic metre of water produced versus the 60 cents the UAE pays to desalinate the equivalent amount of water.

Here, In UAE nowadays we are experiencing a pleasant climate with occasional rains.

Credits to technology too.  :-) 

PC : gulfnews