Torrential rainfall pummeled the United Arab Emirates this week, resulting in flash floods that have caused air travel delays, closed schools, and deluged homes.
Dubai International Airport – recently named the most luxurious airport in the world – was diverting planes as of Tuesday evening until the weather conditions improved, according to a statement.1
Videos on social media appeared to show a heavily flooded tarmac, with large passenger airplanes taxiing through several feet of water.
Dubai got over 4 inches of rain by Tuesday evening, around the amount it typically gets in an entire year, CNN reported2, citing United Nations data.
The UAE was playing rainmaker by cloud seeding
While images of extreme flooding can show the consequences of the climate crisis, this particular event was worsened by a direct attempt to play rainmaker3 – literally.
To address water scarcity in the typically dry country, the UAE started using a practice referred to as cloud seeding in the 90s and early 2000s.
Cloud seeding is a method designed to increase the amount of water that falls from a cloud. It involves identifying suitable clouds and then using aircraft or ground-based generators to introduce a chemical agent that facilitates the production of snowflakes.
Cloud seeding has been used in countries worldwide, including in western US states4 dealing with drought, like California, Colorado, Nevada, Idaho, and Texas.
References
1. https://shorty.fi/IT0e
2. https://shorty.fi/27Sj
3. https://shorty.fi/KaZx
4. https://shorty.fi/QjWN
