Dubai Is Creating Fake Rain To Battle 50°C Heat

Dubai has successfully made its own fake rain in a bid to tackle the city’s scorching temperatures.

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has an average rainfall of just four inches, and often sees temperatures up to 50°C, so the Middle Eastern country has turned to technology to help change this.

It was recently announced that the UAE had funded a project that would see drones being able to control the weather, and from the looks of recent scenes in Dubai, it’s worked.

The country paid $15 million (£10.8 million) towards nine different rain-enhancement projects, part of which was given to the University of Reading, who are behind the creation of the weather-controlling drones.

As to how the drones work, they zap clouds with an electric charge which then apparently charges the droplets in the clouds. According to scientists, this charge makes the droplets more likely to fall as rain.

Keri Nicoll, one of the core investigators on the project, explained:

What we are trying to do is to make the droplets inside the clouds big enough so that when they fall out of the cloud, they survive down to the surface.

This technique is preferred by most places as it doesn’t involve the use of chemicals, The Independent reports.

Dubai was first on the list for the drones to be trialled, and they successfully created heavy downpour in the city. Other areas of UAE reported rainfall on Thursday, July 15, as well.

Usually at this time of year, Dubai sees highs of 41°C alongside zero days of rain.

Several videos have been shared on the Official UAE Weather’s Instagram to demonstrate the drones’ success and, at a glance, you wouldn’t think the videos were taken in Dubai.

The drones have worked so well that yellow weather warnings have been issued in parts of the country.

As of Sunday, July 18, the rainfall was said to be continuing throughout the UAE, which the National Centre of Meteorology credited cloud seeding efforts for, the Khaleej Times reports.

With the heavy rainfall in mind, drivers have been warned to be vigilant on slippery roads.

Alongside the rain, light winds were predicted. It’s hoped clouds will cool the country’s high temperatures.

In light of the cloud seeding success, concerns have been raised that the UAE may have gone too far in its efforts to induce rain as it’s caused flooding in some areas, Wired reports.

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