‘Target the cloud, seed it, and capture the rain’

The UAE Research Programme for Rain Enhancement Science aims to position the United Arab Emirates at the forefront of rain enhancement science by stimulating investment in research for the benefit of the UAE and other arid and semi-arid regions around the world. Launched early this year, the programme will award up to five projects with a total grant of $5 million over a three-year period. In its first phase, the programme has received research pre-proposals from countries. Of the 78 pre-proposals, eight are from India. Alya Al Mazroui, Programme Manager, explained to BusinessLine the salient features about the initiative and its mission.

How do you address apprehensions about harmful effects from cloud seeding?

There is no conclusive evidence that such techniques have negative environmental or health impacts.

All current UAE cloud seeding operations use specialised aircraft that employ seeding flares to disperse natural salts such as potassium chloride and sodium chloride. These materials are used because they are effective in hot, humid atmospheric conditions and have no harmful side effects.

In addition, UAE cloud seeding operations are very carefully assessed in order to gauge their impact on the atmosphere and the local environment.

Are you satisfied with the way India, a victim to vagaries of the annual monsoon, has responded to the initiative?

The UAE Research Programme for Rain Enhancement Science received eight proposals from Indian scientific teams. In terms of potential partnerships for future scientific cooperation, India is one of our main target markets. We are aware that India’s dependence on occasionally capricious seasonal monsoon leaves parts of the country at risk of periodic droughts.

Current Indian rain enhancement operations, such as the projects aimed at boosting rainfall levels in Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra, could offer great promise for the future.

In keeping with the spirit of international collaboration, the programme looks forward to forging productive links with Indian scientists and technologists working in this field.

Has any Indian proposal made it to the final 15? If yes, could you give details?

Unfortunately, we cannot share any information on the short-listed candidates as their submitted proposals are still under review. The programme is a peer-reviewed competition for research grants that is structured according to the highest international standards.

We are, therefore, obliged to respect the confidentiality of the applicants and all involved in the review and selection process.

To what extent can cloud seeding come to terms with a marauding El Nino, one of which visited India this year?

With its huge population and dependence on agriculture, India is very vulnerable to major weather events such as the El Nino phenomenon. Though our understanding of El Nino is imperfect, there is scientific evidence that this weather event can have demonstrable economic effects on countries that rely on rain-dependent agricultural commodities.

While it is far-fetched to imagine that we could influence an event as vast as El Nino, we believe that a better understanding of weather patterns and precipitation forecasts could allow us to make contingency plans to help mitigate the worst effects of the weather ‘shocks’ we might face in the future.

Through the Programme, we are calling on scientists and technologists from around the world to present latest ideas on improving our predictive capacities. Advances in this respect will in turn ensure that we can both enhance and control precipitation as is necessary.

Can you explain the strategy adopted in areas marked out for arid climate?

Given the relatively arid climate of the UAE, we are exploring all options to boost our freshwater reserves.

Within this context, we are looking to maximise our catchment of rainfall from overall annual precipitation levels that have historically been low.

Ongoing cloud seeding operations in the UAE target cloud formations that accumulate over the mountainous areas of the country, specifically during the hot season between April and October.

During this period, humid air masses crossing the Arabian Sea can form as convective clouds when they meet the mountains in the eastern UAE.

The programme’s core objective is the refinement of existing techniques to track and assess clouds, and the development of effective seeding capabilities.

Until now, meteorologists in the UAE have been unable to gather enough data on rain-bearing clouds because of sparse monitoring stations or rain gauges. In addition, new research is needed on the full range of seeding materials and how these can be more deployed more effectively to maximise the yield from different cloud formations.

The programme is designed to build on the UAE’s previous successes in the field, and we are confident that we can generate results that could benefit arid and semi-arid regions in India.

Is cloud-seeding economically feasible? How can your initiative make the technology more accessible to poor farmers?

We believe that the programme has the potential to make significant advances in the science and technology of rain enhancement that could benefit rural areas in countries such as India.

Although it was conceived with the broad aim of improving water sustainability, we are very conscious of the need to use new scientific and technological breakthroughs to make a real difference at the local level.

By improving rain enhancement techniques and ensuring more effective catchment of the additional water produced, we believe that we can improve agricultural productivity in regions traditionally subject to drought and risk of crop failure.

Do burning of coal and firewood and generation of aerosols make the situation any worse for cloud seeding?

The precise effect of open burning and aerosols on cloud seeding is imperfectly understood and requires further study. It is important to note that cloud seeding can be put to uses other than enhancing rainfall. Hail suppression is one of the techniques that have been successfully used to ensure the safety of civil airports.

Also, cloud seeding has been employed in South-East Asia to encourage rainfall to mitigate the air pollution caused by open burning of wood and coal.

COMMENT NOW