UAE rainfall may have increased due to cloud seeding

Heavy rainfall witnessed in the UAE during the last five days may have been increased due to cloud seeding operations.

An official from the National Centre of Meteorology and Seismology (NCMS) confirmed that cloud seeding operations have been conducted everyday, reported The National.

NCMS carried out about 20 rain-boosting flights since Thursday, the report said.

Dr Ahmad Habib, a meteorologist with NCMS, told the paper that studies conducted between 2002 and 2006 suggested cloud seeding could increase rain by between 10 and 30 per cent.

“The cloud seeding helps to increase the amount of rain from the cloud.”

Also read: UAE carrying out cloud seeding to increase rainfall

He also affirmed that the unstable weather conditions were “expected” for this time of the year.

“Now it is a transition period between winter and summer, so the unstable conditions are expected,” he said. “Last year there was more rain. Also, the intensity of the rain last year was more than in this case. It is unstable conditions but it is normal.”

The UAE witnessed strong rains accompanied by thunder and lightening during the last few days. The unstable weather also led to flight diversions and delays at the Dubai International Airport during the weekend.

Read more: Bad weather causes delays, diversions at Dubai International

In its daily bulletin for Tuesday, the NCMS said cloudy to partly cloudy weather was expected throughout the country in general, with the possibility of some rainfall, especially over
northern, western areas and islands.

pic.twitter.com/mTNE8MHzKr

— UAE WEATHER (@NCMS_media) March 28, 2017

“The relative humidity will increase during night and early morning and may lead to mist / fog formation over some internal and western areas,” it said.

The sea will be moderate in the Arabian Gulf and in Oman Sea, it added.