Cloud Seeding in the UAE: A Technical Solution to a Resource Problem?

Hiba AlTamimi
Sep 3, 2018 · 4 min read

Located on the southeastern area of the Arabian Peninsula with 80% of its area made up of desert areas, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) cannot exactly be described as a tropical paradise. The country saw its population explode from around 279,000 in 1971, the year of its union as a country, to around 9.3 million in 2016[1]. As the Malthusian Trap suggests, it is almost expected that the nation would struggle to manage its resources efficiently to satisfy its explosion in population. Unsurprisingly, the biggest resource threat that the arid country faces is the availability of water. The country lacks sufficient and regular amounts of rainfall which is the main source of recharge for its different water resources, such as surface water and groundwater. To tackle this, it has resorted to a creative solution: cloud-seeding.

Surface water resources, considered to be a source of feeding the country’s aquifers, consist of seasonal floods, springs and falajes, which are man-made channels or streams that intercept the groundwater and then bring the water to the surface through a tunnel. The UAE is also highly dependent on groundwater for most of its water supply. The renewable water resources occur mostly in shallow alluvial aquifers that are highly dependent on steady rainfall, whereas the non-renewable water resources are encountered in deep aquifers[2]. Due to the lack of consistent and plentiful rain, the consumption rates of these resources exceed the natural recharge, creating a deficit in groundwater availability.

With an annual rainfall rate of about 100mm, high evaporation of surface water and depleting groundwater reserves, it’s not hard to understand why the UAE has resorted to this method. It began in the 1990s by the National Centre of Meteorology and is done by dispatching twin-propeller aircrafts with flares mostly consisting of potassium chloride and sodium chloride to essentially extract more rain from clouds[3]. The country benefits from this approach in a multitude of ways: It could yield more water for crops and recharge its water reserves, and it is also about 60 times cheaper than the UAE’s other primary extracting method — desalination[4].

In the case of the UAE, water is a common pooled resource that is quickly drying up. The country’s reserves are running out fast and desalination on its own cannot be sustainable. Cloud-seeding has been reviving the country’s agricultural industry, bringing hope to farmers who have had to stop growing vegetables and other crops that rely heavily on water (as opposed to say, palm trees). Cloud-seeding does bring a lot of advantages to the country, but can a technical solution really be the answer to this resource problem?

Garret Hardin would quickly disagree. In his article on the tragedy of the commons, or the resource problems that arise from Malthusian overpopulation, his argument is simple: “No technical solution can rescue us from the misery of overpopulation. Freedom to breed will bring ruin to all”[5]. Elinor Ostrom somewhat agrees with Hardin’s opinion on technical solutions, albeit less cynically. Ostrom argues that the commons can be governed by the community without having to really limit freedoms to the extent that Hardin suggests[6]. The case of the UAE so far suggests otherwise.

While cloud-seeding has its advantages, it is not an exact science and hence could hold risks. The cloud-seeded storm of March 9, 2016 over the emirate of Dubai and the city of Al Ain recorded 287mm of rain, the highest since records began in 1977, and almost triple the average amount of rain recorded annually[7]. The same storm damaged numerous buildings and structures in the country and even led to the temporary closure of the Abu Dhabi International Airport. UAE meteorologists assert that cloud-seeding only helps generate 10 to 30 percent more rain than usual, but the March 2016 storm seems to suggest otherwise[8]. The reality is there is a lot to be understood about rain and clouds because of their differing properties, despite more than 60 years of research.

The uncertainty that comes with cloud-seeding might go towards supporting Hardin and Ostrom’s assertions against technical solutions. In the short-term, increased rain will prove advantageous towards crop cultivation and the recharge of water sources, but the long-term might see the occurrences of floods, over-watered crops, and further public damage if the method isn’t controlled. The recommendation here would be to consider other alternatives that are more easily understood. For example, atmospheric water generators that take advantage of solar-thermal processes are a promising alternative to harvest water from the air in arid regions[9]. Additionally, multi-advantage solutions can be considered such as IBM and Airlight Energy’s High Concentration PhotoVoltaic Thermal (HCPVT) system, which can be customized to provide not only solar-generated power, but also drinkable desalinated water and air conditioning.

Cloud-seeding in the UAE, for the most part, brings numerous advantages to the country as its water resources run dry and natural rainfall remains erratic and lacking. It recharges its groundwater and surface water resources, both of which rely on rainfall, and helps in the cultivation of crops nationwide. On the other hand, and in partial agreement with Hardin and Ostrom, it cannot safely be classified as a sustainable technical solution — in its current form — to this common resource problem due to its possible repercussions. Unless the science of cloud-seeding is studied further, and its usage becomes more controllable, this method might backfire in the long run. In the meantime, the UAE should consider additional more understandable alternatives to diversify its risks in water generation.

Global Perspectives on Today and Tomorrow

Thought-provoking Views on Global Issues

Hiba AlTamimi

Written by

“To be wise is to be eternally curious.” — Frederick Buechner

Global Perspectives on Today and Tomorrow

Thought-provoking Views on Global Issues

Welcome to a place where words matter. On Medium, smart voices and original ideas take center stage - with no ads in sight. Watch
Follow all the topics you care about, and we’ll deliver the best stories for you to your homepage and inbox. Explore
Get unlimited access to the best stories on Medium — and support writers while you’re at it. Just $5/month. Upgrade