• News
    • Tech News
    • AI
  • Gadgets
    • Apple
    • iPhone
  • Gaming
    • Playstation
    • Xbox
  • Science
    • News
    • Space
  • Streaming
    • Netflix
  • Vehicles
    • Car News
  • Social Media
    • WhatsApp
    • YouTube
  • Advertise
  • Terms
  • Privacy & Cookies
  • LADbible Group
  • LADbible
  • UNILAD
  • SPORTbible
  • GAMINGbible
  • Tyla
  • FOODbible
  • License Our Content
  • About Us & Contact
  • Jobs
  • Latest
  • Topics A-Z
  • Authors
Facebook
Instagram
X
TikTok
Snapchat
WhatsApp
Submit Your Content
Incredible footage shows Dubai's artificial rain that's used to tackle high temperatures

Home> News

Published 10:25 10 Apr 2024 GMT+1

Incredible footage shows Dubai's artificial rain that's used to tackle high temperatures

It's a climate that needs all the help it can get.

Kerri-Ann Roper

Kerri-Ann Roper

Whether you've been there for a holiday, stopped for a flight layover, or never stepped foot in Dubai, there's a good chance that you know about its climate.

The city and its surrounds are famously hot and dry, nestled in an effective desert with vanishingly small amounts of rain each year.

So, when footage recently emerged of what looks like torrential rain in Dubai, onlookers were perplexed - is this just the only rain it'll get all year, or is there more going on?

Advert


Well, that latter instinct is pretty spot-on, because while this rain is technically natural, and not man-made as such, it is brought on in a pretty clever way.

As it turns out, Dubai has been pursuing what's called "cloud seeding" in recent years, to increase the likelihood of natural clouds dropping their rain over it rather than simply moving on to leave it parched.

Advert

There's now a task force dedicated to the project, The National Center of Meteorology, and it flies over 1,000 hours of air missions each year as part of the push.

The task force has a network of weather stations that monitor the air and keep a lookout for clouds that would be suitable for seeding, at which point a plane is launched.

This plane has wings loaded up with hygroscopic flares, which effectively are able to shoot around a kilo of salty material each into the cloud as the plane flies through it.

This salt mixes in the cloud, causing its water vapour to increase its droplet size until gravity drags these drops downward and rainfall begins.

Advert

Dubai's artificial rain is a clever way to help combat high temperatures.
Anushka Eranga/NurPhoto via Getty Images

That's a pretty genius way to ensure that you get at least a little rain since anything is better than nothing, and the results can be seen in a video doing the rounds this week, showing Dubai's streets and skyscrapers enveloped in clouds and rain.

According to a report from CNBC earlier this year, Dubai isn't just going to stick with what it knows, either. It's recently developed a new seeding agent to replace the existing one, which it claims is far more efficient and three times as effective as the existing flares.

So, it's clearly part of the long-term plan for the city to keep using these systems and flying its missions to make sure that rain falls at least occasionally.

Advert

The only drawback, seemingly, is that it does rely on suitable clouds rolling into the area, since Dubai can't currently manufacture weather out of thin air, as nice as that would be.

So, if there are absolutely no clouds then there isn't a huge amount it can do.


Featured Image Credit: X/@historyinmemes
Science

Advert

Advert

Advert

  • Horrifying footage shows tourists running for their lives as 11,165 ft Mount Etna erupts behind them
  • 'Awe-inspiring' footage shows the Titanic's little-known neighbor that's full of life
  • Heartbreaking world-first footage of Antarctic sea floor shows how ship anchors and destroying once-pristine ecosystem
  • Astonishing footage shows moment submarine comes into contact with deep-sea creature that's older than dinosaurs

Choose your content:

5 hours ago
6 hours ago
  • 5 hours ago

    Tech mogul dubbed 'Iron Man' teams up with country of 69,000,000 to build AI ecosystem

    NVIDIA boss Jensen Huang is partnering with the UK to build out AI infrastructure

    News
  • 5 hours ago

    AI creates horrifying image of what humans will look like in 1,000,000 years

    ChatGPT shared an image of how it believes humans might evolve

    News
  • 5 hours ago

    'Black hole bomb' discovery could trigger potential 'catastrophic' disaster if it ever detonated

    The event would be comparable to that of a supernova

    News
  • 6 hours ago

    Urgent warning issued to 1,000,000 US drivers to avoid gas stations amid toxic air

    Fires in Canada have caused experts to advise against a regular activity for many Americans

    Science