Dubai Induces Its Own Downpours With Drones, As It Has Had Enough Of Heat
Image via ID 201645708 © Wirestock | Dreamstime.com
This summer has brought brutal heatwaves to multiple corners of the world, affecting the US, India, even Siberia. Dubai, UAE, has also suffered its share of unrelenting warmth, with temperatures reaching up to 122ºF.
Unprecedented times call for unprecedented measures, it seems, as the UAE’s National Center of Meteorology (NCM) decided to take matters into its own hands and create rain where rain wouldn’t fall. In 2017, the UAE invested all of US$15 million into nine rain-inducing projects.
The average precipitation in the country is only 4 inches, reports MSN. But thanks to drone-powered cloud seeding technology, a downpour hit, relieving the area of stifling heat.
However, after struggling for rain in the first place, the subsequent rainfall reported was torrential; so heavy that waterfalls began to appear in Ail Ain and made driving conditions hazardous.
Cloud seeding usually refers to manned aircraft firing chemicals into clouds to trigger precipitation. However, the system trialled in the UAE this time round involved drones firing electrical charge instead. When an electrical pulse is received, the water drops merge together to fall as rain. This is generally favored since it doesn’t use chemicals in the process.
منطقة النصلة #رأس_الخيمة #المركز_الوطني_للأرصاد #أمطار_الخير #أصدقاء_المركز_الوطني_للأرصاد #حالة_الطقس #حالة_جوية #هواة_الطقس #جمعة_القايدي #عواصف_الشمال pic.twitter.com/ZmoveP4OA7
— المركز الوطني للأرصاد (@NCMS_media) July 20, 2021
[via Boing Boing, cover image via ID 201645708 © Wirestock | Dreamstime.com]
Also check out these recent news
