Unmanned aerial vehicles will be used in the United Arab Emirates to plant clouds in arid areas.
A new experiment using unmanned aerial vehicles will be set up in search of new methods for cloud seeding in the arid regions of the UAE to stimulate rainfall.
Representatives of the Rain Enhancement Science research program said that in collaboration with leading meteorologists, environmentally friendly drones are being tested to help scientists explore the possibility of “electrical” seeding of clouds.
Ala Al Mazrui, director of the research program, said senior officials at the National Center for Meteorology and Seismology (NCMS) are working closely with Professor Giles Harrison of the University of Reading, who will return to the UAE from the UK in the coming months to conduct experiments.
The new technology is an offshoot of traditional cloud sowing methods already carried out in the UAE using six specialized light NCMS twin-rotor aircraft and rockets, when the aircraft launches a reagent in natural cloud formations to help release moisture.
As part of new experiments, air vehicles will emit electric charges into the clouds. Innovative aspects are the use of unmanned aerial vehicles for artificial changes in the electrical properties of clouds, as well as the absence of negative environmental impacts.
