Modifying the UAE's weather to manage the water crisis
Faced with a hotter, drier climate the UAE has launched an international research prize for weather modification as it looks at ways to secure its future water supply.
2 min read
The UAE's abundance of water parks and green areas use vast quantities of water [Getty]
The UAE is looking at ways to modify the weather to help it secure a water supply for future generations.
The emirate is facing hotter, drier condition due to climate change.
This month it launched an international research prize for weather modification, and awarded $5m to researchers from Germany, Japan, and the UAE, reported the UK's Guardian newspaper.
"There are many techniques to secure water resources," said Masataka Murakami, of Japan's Nagoya University's Institute for Space-Earth Environmental Research, who will lead one of the research teams.
"But only precipitation enhancement can produce a lot of water for industrial use, irrigation etc cheaply," Murakami added.
There is less than 100mm of rainfall a year in the emirate, much of which is lost to evaporation due to the high temperatures.
However, the country is also one of the biggest per capita consumers of water in the world.
Groundwater reserves are being drained by, for example, irrigation for farmers, a growing urban population, and an abundance of water parks and green areas.
Murakami's team will spend the next three years using sensors and algorithms to identify the most promising clouds to work with.
A German team from the University of Hohenheim will look at how winds and topography affect cloud formation and movement.
In addition, a team from from the UAE's Masdar Institute of Science and Technology will look at ways of using nanotechnology to increase water condensation within clouds.
The government is also looking at ways of increasing the efficiency of desalination plants, and is considering importing icebergs and water trading as means to improve its water supply.
The UAE has been investing in weather modification since the 1990s, and has worked with NASA and private US companies to try to boost rainfall and replenish dwindling groundwater supplies, said the Guardian.
On good days, the cloud-busting operations manage to squeeze an extra 15 percent of rainfall out of the clouds, said meteorologist Sufian Khaled Farrah. The country's record was 35 percent above the expected rainfall, he added.
"It is expensive but compared to desalination plants it is very, very cheap".
Earlier this month, it was revealed that the UAE's diminishing groundwater supplies are threatening to wipe out Abu Dhabi's famed date palm groves.
The news came soon after a recent study by the emirate's environment agency said Abu Dhabi would run out of water in 50 years unless urgent action is taken.
The emirate is facing hotter, drier condition due to climate change.
This month it launched an international research prize for weather modification, and awarded $5m to researchers from Germany, Japan, and the UAE, reported the UK's Guardian newspaper.
"There are many techniques to secure water resources," said Masataka Murakami, of Japan's Nagoya University's Institute for Space-Earth Environmental Research, who will lead one of the research teams.
"But only precipitation enhancement can produce a lot of water for industrial use, irrigation etc cheaply," Murakami added.
There is less than 100mm of rainfall a year in the emirate, much of which is lost to evaporation due to the high temperatures.
However, the country is also one of the biggest per capita consumers of water in the world.
Groundwater reserves are being drained by, for example, irrigation for farmers, a growing urban population, and an abundance of water parks and green areas.
Murakami's team will spend the next three years using sensors and algorithms to identify the most promising clouds to work with.
A German team from the University of Hohenheim will look at how winds and topography affect cloud formation and movement.
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The UAE is one of the biggest per capita consumers of water in the world. |  |
In addition, a team from from the UAE's Masdar Institute of Science and Technology will look at ways of using nanotechnology to increase water condensation within clouds.
The government is also looking at ways of increasing the efficiency of desalination plants, and is considering importing icebergs and water trading as means to improve its water supply.
The UAE has been investing in weather modification since the 1990s, and has worked with NASA and private US companies to try to boost rainfall and replenish dwindling groundwater supplies, said the Guardian.
On good days, the cloud-busting operations manage to squeeze an extra 15 percent of rainfall out of the clouds, said meteorologist Sufian Khaled Farrah. The country's record was 35 percent above the expected rainfall, he added.
"It is expensive but compared to desalination plants it is very, very cheap".
Earlier this month, it was revealed that the UAE's diminishing groundwater supplies are threatening to wipe out Abu Dhabi's famed date palm groves.
The news came soon after a recent study by the emirate's environment agency said Abu Dhabi would run out of water in 50 years unless urgent action is taken.
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