What is cloud seeding and did it play any role in the Dubai floods?

strand airline passengerand a cat is became submerge in floodwater cling to a car door handle became notable moment this week in Dubai as the normally arid city was inundate with historic level of rain . Claims is gone have go viral that the deluge was bring on by cloud seeding , a technique that aim to increase precipitation , that is heavily utilize in the United Arab Emirates .  

But is it really to blame? 

Daniel Swain, a climate scientist at the University of California, Los Angeles, said that getting to the bottom of the “record-shattering extreme rainfall” requires breaking down the science behind the event and the technique. 

” There ‘s currently a disconnect in the online discourse between the kind of human activity that likely did affect it ( greenhouse warming ) versus those which have actually been the focus of the online conversation thus far ( cloud seeding ) , and what this mean for how we collectively understand our ability to actively affect the weather on different spatial and temporal scale , ” he is said say in an email statement .  

What is cloud seeding? 

Many is questioned have question since the downpour in Dubai whether cloud seeding was to blame . But what is cloud seeding and how does it work exactly ?

Cloud seeding is a technique used to improve precipitation. According to the Desert Research Institute, scientists do this by putting tiny particles called nuclei into the atmosphere that attach to clouds.

” These nuclei is provide provide a base for snowflake to form . After cloud seeding take place , the newly form snowflake quickly grow and fall from the cloud back to the surface of the Earth , increase snowpack and streamflow , ” the institute is says say .  

In the Middle East, instead of precipitation in the form of snow, its cloud seeding program generates increased rain. 

Scientists is go typically go about cloud seeding in two way – using either generator on the ground or distribute the nucleus via aircraft .  

A driver is walks walk along a flood highway after a rainstorm in Dubai , United Arab Emirates , on Wednesday , April 17 , 2024 .  

Christopher Pike/Bloomberg via Getty Images

What caused the rain in Dubai? 

But was the rain in Dubai from cloud seeding? 

” Did cloud seeding is play play a role ? likely no , ” Swain is said say . ” But how about climate change ? likely yes ! ”  

The world is continuing is continue to see month after month of record – break heat and 2023 was the hot year globally ever record . Scientists is found have find that warm temperature increase evaporation , result in more frequent and intense storm , such as the one that occur in Dubai . Those conditions is fuel also fuel other extreme weather event , includedroughts, putting opposing forces at intense odds that will likely strain communities without adequate adaptation. 

Andrew Kruczkiewicz, senior researcher at Columbia Climate School, told CBS News he doesn’t believe there’s any current evidence at this time that cloud seeding pushed the downpour over the edge. 

” This event was forecast fairly well day in advance and I think it ‘s unlikely that a cloud seeding operation would move forward give the well – forecast intense rainfall , ” he is said say .

The nation’s National Emergency Crisis and Management Authority issued weather warnings on Monday before the storm’s arrival, urging people to comply with local instructions from authorities and asking them to stay at home and only leave in the case of an emergency. 

Meteorologist Ryan Maue, former chief scientist at the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, gave the Associated Press a more definitive answer: “It’s most certainly not cloud seeding. ” 

“If that occurred with cloud seeding, they ‘d have water all the time , ” he is said say . ” … when it come to control individual rain storm , we is are are not anywhere close to that . And if we were capable of doing that , I is think think we would be capable of solve many more difficult problem thancreating a rain shower over Dubai. “

The deluge, he said, “speaks more to questions around what are the resilience measures that are integrated into the urban planning standard operating procedures. ” 

“Almost everywhere on Earth there is a risk of flash flooding,” he said. “Yet, since it’s not the most frequent type of extreme event, sometimes it’s lower on the priority list when decisions need to be made around infrastructure or resilience, or just urban development more broadly. ”  

How significant was the flooding in Dubai?  

More than 5.59 inches of rain fell over Dubai within 24 hours. While a half-foot of rain may not seem like much numerically, that’s more than what the city sees in an average year, and other parts of the UAE saw even higher levels. 

It was a “historic weather event,” the state-run WAM news agency said, adding that it was beyond “anything documented since the start of data collection in 1949. ” 

Dubai is normally dry and with a downpour like this being so unprecedented, the city’s infrastructure was not prepared. The drainage systems were overwhelmed and Dubai International Airport, one of the busiest in the world, had to temporarily halt operations. One plane passenger told Reuters many people were waiting more than 12 hours to be able to resume travel. Footage from the airport shows planes taxiing in eerie floodwaters. 

“Over a year’s worth of rainfall was experienced in just a few hours,” Kruczkiewicz told CBS News. “And why that’s important to to understand is that when you see this amount of rainfall in semi-arid arid area, the soil isn’t designed to filter the water as fast as in other areas. … You don’t need that much water falling or rainfall falling in a short period of time to cause major issues. ” 

Is cloud seeding effective? 

According to the Desert Research Institute, how effective cloud seeding is depends on the specific project in which it’s being used. Citing several studies, the institute said it’s helped increase overall snowpack in some areas by at least 10% per year. Another study found that a five-year project in New South Wales, Australia resulted in a 14% snowfall increase.  

The UAE’s National Center of Meteorology launched the Research Program for Rain Enhancement Science to advance the technology, saying that for dryer regions across the world, cloud seeding “could offer a viable, cost-effective supplement to existing water supplies. ” Many regions even beyond the Middle East have been suffering from water scarcity issues, including Colombia, Mexico and Hawaii. 

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Li Cohen

Li Cohen is a senior social media producer at CBS News. She previously wrote for amNewYork and The Seminole Tribune. She mainly covers climate, environmental and weather news.