Extra rain hits Dubai as cloud-seeding planes take to the skies

Newest: Remaining burst of rain earlier than cool and dry weekend forward

Extra rain hit Dubai and different Emirates on Monday as forecasters warned the UAE is in for a number of extra days of moist climate.

The Nationwide Centre of Meteorology mentioned downpours, robust winds and leaden skies could possibly be anticipated till Wednesday, if not for longer.

Highly effective gusts of as much as 60 kilometres per hour may sweep throughout the UAE till Tuesday, decreasing visibility, throwing up mud clouds and inflicting tough circumstances within the Arabian Gulf, the forecast confirmed.

The NCM additionally mentioned cloud-seeding planes are in motion to attempt to coax extra rain to fall.

“The nation is affected by unstable climate as a consequence of an extension of a floor low strain, accompanied by an higher air low strain from the west,” the NCM mentioned.

It follows a bout of moist circumstances that swept throughout the Emirates from Friday.

Dubai and Abu Dhabi had been hit by intense storms with torrential rain deluging the cities together with thunder and lightning.

Virtually 18 months’ price of rain fell within the UAE within the house of simply three days.

Since December 30, Saih Al Salam in Dubai, which incorporates Al Qudra Lakes, Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Photo voltaic Park and Bab Al Shams Desert Resort & Spa, has recorded 141.8mm of rain.

On common, the UAE information about 100 millimetres of precipitation a 12 months.

Collapsed ceilings, leaking doorways and blocked drains had been reported in some houses after the New Yr storm struck Dubai.

The UAE’s cloud-seeding planes have additionally been in motion coinciding with downpours throughout the Emirates.

The NCM’s seeding programme doesn’t create rain however tries to reinforce it.

Seeding entails taking pictures crystals comparable to salt into the clouds. Salt naturally attracts water. The water particles then collide with one another and hopefully fall as rain.

How a lot rainfall is generated is tough to quantify, with the NCM saying extra research are wanted.

“I do not assume we have seen rain like this since 2019,” Dr Abdulla Al Bahri, a forecaster on the NCM, informed Dubai Eye radio station on Monday. “It is pure and a few of it’s [because of] cloud seeding.”

Aftermath of the UAE storm – in photos

Up to date: January 04, 2022, 8:35 AM