Dubai Makes Fake Rain Using Drones To Tackle 50°C Heatwave

In a bid to tackle the extreme weather conditions and increase rainfall in the United Arab Emirates, officials turned to the help of innovative technology to make it possible. So far, it appears the effort is a success. 

The weather manipulation employed in Dubai primarily relies on drone technology. The drones release an electrical charge into the clouds, resulting in a coalesce and in the creation of rain. The technology is reportedly favorable as compared to other forms of cloud seeding. 

The United Arab Emirates has created its own rain using drones that release an electrical charge into the clouds.

In particular, it’s a part of multi-million efforts to tackle blistering weather while bringing up the meager average of just four inches of rainfall a year in the Middle Eastern country. At the moment, Dubai is grappling with a heatwave that regularly sees residents roast at a temperature estimated at 50c.

The drone technology was brought to the spotlight by experts at the University of Reading in the UK.

A spectacular video released by the National Center Meteorology (NCM) has since shown the monsoon-like downpours battering cars as they drive on highways in scenarios that would naturally have happened in the southeast Asian countries, but certainly not the UAE. However, the drones appear to be effective that a yellow weather warning has been announced.

Waterfalls are seen on the side of roads as drivers struggle to navigate the torrential rain. 

Wired Reports that at a point, the downpour was quite dramatic that concerns were raised over whether the technology had gone a step too far as it had caused flooding. The UAE had in 2017 invested a whopping $15 million in nine rain-making projects to create artificial rain. 

The drones appear to be effective that a yellow weather warning has even been announced.

University of Reading researcher Professor Maarten Ambaum worked on the fascinating project. He explained how the project aimed to merge water droplets through electric pulses. Speaking to BBC in early 2021, Maarten claimed the UAE has enough clouds for the technology, which works ‘like dry hair to a comb’ to work.

However, this is one of the nine rain-making projects that the UAE funded in 2017.

He added: “The water table is sinking drastically in the UAE and the purpose of this is to try to help with rainfall. When the drops merge and are big enough, they will fall as rain.” Nonetheless, these types of manipulation aren’t limited to the UAE. In a March report published by The Guardian, numerous U.S states have looked into cloud seeding as a way to fight severe drought conditions.