{"id":2790,"date":"2016-12-20T00:39:11","date_gmt":"2016-12-20T00:39:11","guid":{"rendered":""},"modified":"2016-12-20T00:39:11","modified_gmt":"2016-12-20T00:39:11","slug":"hot-summer-weather-good-for-cloud-seeding","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lovin.co\/dubai\/en\/feature\/hot-summer-weather-good-for-cloud-seeding\/","title":{"rendered":"The Hot Summer Months Are ACTUALLY Really Good For Dubai’s Cloud Seeding Plans"},"content":{"rendered":"
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You’re probably thinking summer and good do NOT go together. Well, they do. And it’s\u00a0for good reason. This season is best for harvesting rain in the UAE, and the\u00a0National Centre for Meteorology and Seismology runs cloud seeding flights four days per week. A number that’s higher than what it does in winter months.<\/p>\n

If you don’t know much about cloud seeding…<\/h3>\n

It is basically a form of weather modification. The idea is to change the amount or type of precipitation that falls from clouds (increase rain or snow). This is done by dispersing substances into the air that serve as cloud condensation, and they\u00a0alter the microphysical processes within the cloud.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

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UAE started cloud seeding in the 1990s<\/h3>\n

It generally happens in the mountainous areas in the north of the country. The government is looking into cloud seeding as an alternative to desalination plants\u00a0which are harmful to the environment and expensive. Though, currently these plants are becoming the major source of\u00a0water in the UAE.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

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So why is summer a good time for this?<\/h3>\n

Sufian Farrah, meteorologist and cloud seeding expert at the centre, explains, “It’s because in summer months the monsoon drafts, which traps moisture into the atmosphere”.<\/p>\n

How does the process work?<\/h3>\n

The centre has set up\u00a074 automatic weather stations across the country. They measure the elements that are important to cloud seeding –\u00a0weather conditions, atmospheric pressure, wind direction and speed and global solar radiation. Plus they have\u00a0a second generation satellite that watches and monitors the region’s air mass, fog, storms and thunderstorms.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Once a ‘good’ cloud is found, their\u00a0Beach Craft King Air C 90 airplane\u00a0is sent out to seed the cloud,\u00a0where the pilot releases flares at its base containing salts. In 15-20 minutes, the reaction to the salts is produced and it starts to rain.<\/p>\n

This video should explain it<\/h4>\n