Technology
Dubai creating its own RAIN to battle 50C heat using ‘zapper drones’ that cause showers
THE United Arab Emirates is making its own RAIN using hi-tech drones to stave off brutal 50C/122F heat.
The specialised drones release electric charges at cloud level to kickstart downpours in the desert nation.
Get all the latest Science newsKeep up-to-date with the top Space & Astronomy storiesAll the latest Archaelogy news from dinosaurs to Ancient artefacts
University of ReadingBritain’s University of Reading helped create the cloud-seeding drone tech[/caption]
UAE NCMThe UAE has been blasted with heavy rain recently[/caption]
The UAE has significant problems when it comes to water resource.
Its water table is sinking, and global temperatures are steadily rising.
So the arid nation is pumping money into finding reprieve from the heat – with $15million spent on nine rain-related projects.
One ongoing project is called cloud seeding.
This involves using drones to release electric charges in clouds.
As revealed by the BBC earlier this year, the shocks “cajole” the clouds into joining together.
This bunching-up effect makes rainfall much more likely.
“When the drops merge and are big enough, they will fall as rain,” said Prof Maarten Ambaum, speaking to the BBC.
Recent footage released this week by the UAE’s National Centre of Meteorology has shown huge downpours across the country.
But it’s still unclear how significant the effect that the drones are having.
However, cloud seeding has been used before.
Ski resorts in Colorado reportedly use this technique to “induce heavier snowfall”, according to Phys.org.
And China is believed to have used a similar method of “rain dispersal” to keep the 2008 Beijing Olympics opening dry.
But boosting rainfall in the UAE is important for everyday citizens.
The country has an annual rainfall of just three inches to four inches.
And temperatures in the capital of Dubai regularly exceed 103F/40C.
The Sun recently reported on one bonkers plot for an “ice pirate” to tow a 1.2MILE iceberg to the UAE.
It would be dragged across the ocean from the South Pole, and then melted down into drinking water.
The desert nation lacks water sources and, as a result, consumes 15% of the world’s desalinated seawater.
UAE NCMDrones are attempting to boost rainfall in the arid nation[/caption]
UAE NCMDrones used electrical charge to bunch clouds up, increasing the chances of precipitation[/caption]
UAE NCMThe UAE has some of the lowest levels of rainfall in the world[/caption]
Science facts
Want to know more about the weird and wonderful world of science? From space and astronomy to the human body, we have you covered…
When is the next Full Moon?
How many bones are in the human body?
Is Pluto a planet?
How old is the Earth?
What causes a volcano to erupt?
Which sharks attack the most humans?
What are the conspiracy theories about the world ending?
All the UFO sightings and whether aliens are real
Which country has the most earthquakes?
Most read in Tech
Nasa recently discovered an incredible mile-long perfectly rectangular iceberg floating in the Antarctic.
And the space agency recently warned that an “iceberg twice the size of Manhattan” could break away from the South Pole.
Scientists recently warned over an ancient Antarctic ice sheet collapse that caused a “global flood”, which could happen again.
We pay for your stories! Do you have a story for The Sun Online Tech & Science team? Email us at tech@the-sun.co.uk
