The United Arab Emirates was hit by heavy rain on Tuesday.
In Dubai, over 100 millimeters of rain fell within twelve hours, which is more than it usually falls in a year. Large parts of the city were flooded and the airport, one of the world’s largest, suffered extensive problems but many flights were cancelled.
In the city of Al Ain south of Dubai, as much as 230 millimeters fell.
In connection with the rainy weather, there was information in, among other things Bloomberg News that the downpour would have been caused, among other things, by so-called cloud seeding – a process where chemical substances are spread in the air with the aim of affecting the clouds and causing rain.
Cloud seeding has been an essential part of efforts to combat the water deficit in the United Arab Emirates since the 1990s, and each year the country spends more than 1,000 hours on cloud seeding, according to CNBC.
NCM: No cloud seeds
However, no such process should have taken place before or in connection with Tuesday’s storm. This is what Omar AlYazeed, deputy director at the United Arab Emirates National Meteorological Center NCM, says in an interview with CNBC.
AlYazeed tells the newspaper that they noted the incoming storm and therefore did not perform any cloud seeding.
– We take the safety of our people, our pilots and our aircraft very seriously. NCM does not perform cloud seeding in extreme weather conditions, Omar AlYazeed told CNBC.
In recent years, rain has become more common in the United Arab Emirates and the surrounding area, and according to calculations, climate change may lead to even more rain in the Gulf states in the future.