United Arab Emirates tackles hot weather by 'creating its own rain' with drones

in Steem Links4 years ago
Abu Dhabi is one of the cities where cloud seeding is being trialled

(22 July 2021; Sky News)

The United Arab Emirates is using drone technology to enhance its rainfall amid temperatures of over 40C.
...
The drones fly into clouds and release electric charges, which helps water droplets merge together and form precipitation.

Read the rest from Sky News: United Arab Emirates tackles hot weather by 'creating its own rain' with drones)

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 4 years ago 

This is a great initiative, but it got me wondering..how many drones will it take to rain on such an enormous size of land, and will it be sustainable? Perhaps, thousands of huge drones may suffice but will their water source be able to support such undertaking for the long term?

Yes, I recall when China did this during the 2016 Olympics; in their case, they wanted to make it rain early for storms headed into the area, so that it would not rain on the Olympics.
And I still have questions. 🤣

 4 years ago 

Really? I never came across such news. I will look into the article.

Professor Giles Harrison, of the University of Reading, is working on the research and said it is "intended to bring blue-sky thinking to cloud and rain".

He said: "Our project is about changing the balance of charges on the tiniest cloud droplets, a neglected aspect of clouds which could revolutionise our ability to manipulate rainfall in areas that need it most."

Even if this uses a "neglected" aspect of clouds, I also wonder about balance in the water cycle.

 4 years ago 

Possibly, the ramification of this action could ripple through the climate cycle of near or even far countries.

I don't know how similar the technique is, but an early application for a cloud-seeding patent came through the United States patent office in the 1940s.

 4 years ago 

A one-paged research material.. should be an easy read. Thanks.

There's another page there, but it's not easy to get to. Click "claims"

 4 years ago 

A "Full Page" button on the left sidebar did the trick. Thanks for the alert.

That one didn't work for me, but the "claims" link did.