PHOTOS: Flying with UAE cloud seeding pilots

The UAE performs about 1,000 hours of cloud seeding every year, in a process where small aircraft “shoot” salt substances within clouds to stimulate the formation of ice crystals or raindrops.

And with rain forecast to fall in parts of the Emirates later this week again, the small cloud seeding aircraft — which are operated by the UAE’s National Centre of Meteorology and Seismology — could take to the skies once again.

READ MORE: UAE weather: Partly cloudy skies, moderate rainfall across the country

The UAE government has invested $20m in cloud seeding research and development, according to a recent video that appeared on CNBC.

UAE’s growing cloud seeding operations

According to the National Centre of Meteorology and Seismology, the UAE’s efforts in building up its rain enhancement capabilities have come a long way ever since they were initiated in 1990. 

“The UAE now has more than 60 networked weather stations, an integrated radar network, and five specialised aircraft for seeding operations. The UAE has the first factory to produce high-quality flares in the region, which is the ‘Emirates Weather Enhancement Factory’. The materials used in the country’s cloud seeding operations are harmless, as they depend on natural salts such as potassium chloride and sodium chloride,” says the National Centre of Meteorology on its website.

Pictured below are some photos of the more recent UAE cloud seeding flights on January 31 this year.