- NCM said it had been tracking the occurrence of heavy rain but had not targeted clouds during that period and attributed the storm to natural rainfall.
- According to a report in the scientific journal Nature, rainfall has increased in the Gulf states in recent years, with precipitation expected to increase by 30% in the coming years.
The National Center of Meteorology (NCM), the government task force responsible for cloud seeding missions in the United Arab Emirates, said the country implemented weather modification techniques ahead of the big storm, which resulted in worsening flooding in places such as Dubai. He denied the report. .
The group told CNBC that it did not send pilots for seeding operations before or during the storm that hit the UAE on Tuesday.
Omar Al-Yazidi, NCM's deputy director-general, said the agency “did not carry out any seeding operations during this event.”
He further added, “One of the fundamental principles of cloud seeding is that you need to target clouds in the early stages before rain falls. If you find yourself in severe thunderstorm conditions, you should carry out seeding operations. It's too late,” he added.
On Tuesday, the country experienced its heaviest rainstorm ever, 250mm According to NCM statistics, rainfall has decreased in the emirate of Al Ain, with places such as Dubai recording rainfall of more than 100mm. Annual rainfall in the UAE averages between 140 and 200 mm.
NCM's denial follows an earlier Bloomberg report in which expert meteorologist Ahmed Habib said part of Tuesday's rain was caused by cloud seeding. Habib later told CNBC that six pilots flew the mission as part of normal procedures and did not cause any clouds. CNBC could not independently verify the report.
Cloud seeding, a process used to increase rainfall, is an integral part of the UAE's mission to solve water scarcity. His seeding mission was introduced in the 1990s, and he now performs over 1,000 hours of cloud seeding per year.
NCM said it had been tracking the occurrence of heavy rain but had not targeted clouds during that period and attributed the storm to natural rainfall.
He added: “We take the safety of our employees, pilots and aircraft very seriously. NCM does not conduct cloud seeding operations during extreme weather conditions.”
According to a report in the scientific journal Nature, rainfall has increased in the Gulf states in recent years and is expected to increase by 15 to 30 percent in the coming years.
Traditionally characterized by a desert climate and rare rainfall, the UAE has experienced changes in weather patterns over time as a result of climate change.
The UAE government's National Emergency, Crisis and Disaster Management Authority issued a warning on social media platform X ahead of the unstable weather conditions, calling on residents to stay at home and adhere to safety guidelines.
The UAE's infrastructure and buildings are designed to withstand the region's unique weather patterns, including minimal rainfall. Emirates' drainage systems struggled to cope with unprecedented rainfall, resulting in flooding of roads and airports and halting the country's major operations.
Vehicles are stranded on a flooded road after heavy rain in Dubai in the early hours of April 17, 2024. Dubai, the Middle East's financial center, has been paralyzed by heavy rains that caused flooding across the UAE and Bahrain, and on April 14 and 15, which killed 18 people in Oman.
