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The claim that the cloud seeding method caused the flood in Dubai, one of the driest regions in the world, spread rapidly on social media.
Sozcu.com.tr
Published: 09:26 – 18 April 2024 Updated: 09:32 – 18 April 2024
Major floods in Dubai, with the heaviest rainfall in the last 75 years, have raised questions in the region, which is normally very dry.
According to the BBC, approximately 1.5 years’ worth of rain fell across the region in 24 hours. After this, speculations about cloud seeding began to circulate on social media.
Dubai, the “desert city”, is located in the coastal region of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and is generally a very arid region. Although it receives an average of less than 100 mm of precipitation per year, heavy downpours occur from time to time.
In the recent rains, approximately 256 mm of rain fell in 24 hours in Al-Ain city, 100 km away from Dubai. The main reason for this was a “closed low-pressure weather system” that draws in warm, moist air and blocks other weather systems from coming in.
IMPACT OF CLIMATE CHANGE
Prof. is a meteorologist at the University of Reading and studies rainfall patterns in the Gulf region. “This part of the world is known for long periods without rain followed by sporadic, heavy rainfall. But this was still a very rare rainfall,” says Maarten Ambaum.
Record rainfall is directly proportional to how the climate is changing. Warmer air can hold more moisture (about 7 percent additional moisture for each degree Celsius); This can increase the intensity of the rain.
As the world continues to warm, annual rainfall across much of the UAE could increase by nearly 30 per cent by the end of the century, according to a recent study.
Meanwhile, in densely urbanized Dubai, there is little green space to absorb moisture. The drainage system in the city is also not resistant to such high rainfall levels.
CLOUD SEEDING CLAIM
Cloud seeding is a technique that helps trigger rain by sprinkling a substance called silver iodide into existing clouds, which in turn helps produce more rain.
This technique, which can be done by planes, has been used for decades, and the UAE has also used it to address water shortages in recent years.
Following the floods, some social media users incorrectly attributed the extreme weather conditions to recent cloud seeding operations in the country.
Earlier reports by Bloomberg suggested cloud seeding planes were used on Sunday and Monday, but not on Tuesday, when the flooding occurred.
Although the BBC has not been able to independently confirm when cloud seeding took place, experts say it will have had a minor impact on the storm at best and that the focus on cloud seeding is “misleading”.
Weather forecasters had warned of a high risk of flooding across the Gulf last week.
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