A Closer Look: Is this rain due to the UAE's cloud seeding programme?

A Closer Look is The National's show where we take an in-depth look at one of the main stories of the week.

The UAE was subjected to a number of heavy downpours this week as rain swept across the country.

Residents in Dubai were caught in some torrential rain on Wednesday night which led to flooding and a number of road closures, while Abu Dhabi managed to remain fairly dry.

More rain is expected before the skies finally clear on Sunday.

The week of wet weather coincides with Abu Dhabi hosting the International Rain Enhancement Forum 2023 where the Emirates' effort to increase the amount of rainfall was discussed.

Here, host Sarah Forster speaks to reporter Anjana Sankar about how much of the rain we saw this week was the result of cloud seeding.

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Cloud seeding in the UAE: in pictures

Hygroscopic (water-attracting) salt flares are attached to an aircraft at Al Ain International Airport before a cloud-seeding flight operated by the National Centre of Meteorology. The UAE has been leading the effort to seed clouds and increase precipitation, which remains at less than 100 millimetres a year on average. All photos by Reuters

Updated: March 06, 2024, 8:22 AM