Cleaner Tech

UAE Is Testing Technologies To Increase Rain From Cloud Seeding

  • Desalination costs 25 times more than cloud seeding: NCM
  • Country looking to collect and use rainwater more effectively
A cloud-seeding flight over the United Arab Emirates in 2024.Photographer: Andrea DiCenzo/Getty Images
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The United Arab Emirates is testing technologies aimed at boosting the rain generated by cloud seeding, as the desert nation bids to improve water security.

Like many countries in the Middle East, the UAE is heavily reliant on desalination to meet its growing water requirements. But that’s 25 times more costly than cloud seeding, according to Abdulla Al Mandous, director general of the National Center of Meteorology.