Investigating the Impact of Dubai's Cloud Seeding Program on Recent Flooding

On Tuesday, Dubai experienced heavy rainfall that led to flooding in some areas, turning streets into rivers and temporarily closing the world's second-busiest airport. Many wondered if the United Arab Emirates' cloud-seeding program was responsible for this disaster.

According to officials from the National Center of Meteorology in the country, they have denied that the rain was a result of cloud seeding. CNN has contacted the center for further clarification on this matter.

Efforts to make it rain by flying planes through the sky before a storm are unlikely to produce more rain than would naturally fall. These attempts to extract moisture from clouds have been ongoing for many years, but there is little proof of their effectiveness.

But that hasn’t stopped some countries, including the UAE, China and the US, from trying to modify the weather.

Here’s what to know about cloud seeding.

What is cloud seeding?

Cloud seeding is a weather modification concept that attempts to draw more rain or snow out of a cloud than would occur naturally.

Cloud droplets do not form on their own. They need something to condense on, similar to the water that appears on the side of a cold glass on a hot day. In a cloud, there are tiny particles in the air called condensation nuclei that the moisture can attach to.

Cloud seeding involves adding more of these particles to the air. Aircraft fly through existing clouds and release tiny particles, such as silver iodide, with the aim of creating more water or ice droplets.

Cars are stuck on a flooded road after a rainstorm hit Dubai, in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, April 17, 2024. REUTERS/Rula Rouhana

Cars are stuck on a flooded road after a rainstorm hit Dubai, in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, April 17, 2024. REUTERS/Rula Rouhana

Rula Rouhana/Reuters

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In any cloud, once enough droplets merge, they become heavy and fall to the Earth as rain or snow.

Tiny particles like dust and dirt usually help clouds to condense and release their moisture. In theory, silver iodide can also play this role.

But does cloud seeding actually work?

Determining the impact of cloud seeding on precipitation is very challenging. Many experiments trying to measure its effectiveness have faced difficulties.

According to Daniel Swain, a climate scientist at UCLA, it is hard to know how much precipitation is a result of cloud seeding. It is also difficult to determine how much precipitation would have occurred naturally without the seeding. This makes it impossible to conduct a truly controlled experiment.

Researchers have attempted cloud seeding experiments. According to a study published in 2020 in the Proceedings of the National Academies of Sciences, one of these experiments might have led to a 10% increase in precipitation compared to natural conditions. However, skepticism remains prevalent within the scientific community.

“There needs to be controlled studies that actually shows it was the seeding that increased the precipitation in a meaningful way,” Swain asserted.

What harms could cloud seeding do?

As the Earth's temperature rises because of human activities, some regions are experiencing hotter and drier conditions. Cloud seeding is seen as a way to increase water supply in areas facing water scarcity, but it may also lead to decreased rainfall in other regions.

Water, just like any other substance, cannot be made or eliminated. It can only change form as it cycles through the Earth's closed water system.

When you engage in cloud seeding, you might unknowingly be taking water that belongs to someone else. This is because the process can create a situation where water is essentially redistributed in a way that may leave some areas even drier. As Swain pointed out, if water falls from clouds in one location, it could mean less water reaching other downstream areas.

An extreme storm system brought about heavy rainfall.

The heavy rain that caused severe flooding in the United Arab Emirates, Oman, and Iran was not a sudden occurrence. It was not limited to areas where cloud seeding takes place.

The torrential rainfall was a result of a massive, slow-moving storm that moved across the Arabian Peninsula and into the Gulf of Oman over several days. This storm was able to gather a significant amount of moisture from the tropical regions near the equator and release it heavily over the affected areas.

The storm, whether or not cloud seeding took place, was predicted in advance due to an extreme weather pattern.

As the atmosphere warms up, heavy rainfall events like this one will happen more often. This is because a warmer atmosphere can hold more moisture, acting like a sponge that squeezes out flooding rainfall.

CNN’s Rachel Ramirez and Angela Fritz contributed to this report.

Editor's P/S:

The recent heavy rainfall and flooding in Dubai have raised questions about the effectiveness and potential risks of cloud seeding. While officials deny that the rain was a result of cloud seeding, the article highlights the challenges in determining its impact and the concerns around potential water redistribution and decreased rainfall in other areas.

It is important to note that cloud seeding is still a developing technology, and there is limited scientific evidence to support its effectiveness. Additionally, the potential environmental consequences of cloud seeding, such as the redistribution of water resources, need to be carefully considered before widespread implementation. Further research and controlled experiments are necessary to fully understand the potential benefits and risks of cloud seeding before it can be widely adopted as a weather modification technique.