By John Ikani
The United Arab Emirates’s National Center of Meteorology (NCM) is using drone technology to enhance its rainfall amid temperatures of over 40C.
The drones fly into clouds and release electric charges, which helps water droplets merge together and form precipitation.
For this year, the NCM released a video of monsoon-like showers and sparking flashes of lightning.
The rain and strong winds cut visibility on roads and created difficult driving conditions.
The NCM has reportedly carried out 126 cloud seeding flights since the beginning of 2021.
This includes 14 flights since last Tuesday, with a two to three hour flight operated in most of the country’s regions.
The organisation has partly attributed increased rain to its cloud seeding efforts.
Some studies suggest cloud seeding could increase rainfall by up to 35%, but others dispute its effectiveness.
China and India are among other countries trialling this technology.
