Rainmaking myths run deep across desert and arid-region folklore in ancient cultures. One such tale speaks of a magical frog whose tears bring rain. When a chieftain refuses to allow the frog to marry his daughter, the creature weeps, unleashing a deluge that forces the village to relent—after which the rain abruptly stops.
Today, the Middle East’s rainmakers are no longer mythical. Regional powerhouses such as the UAE rely not on a magical frog or mythical genies, but on technology to augment rainfall. The country now offers one of the world’s most generous research grants for improving cloud-seeding and rain-enhancement technologies.
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The UAE Research Program for Rain Enhancement Science (UAEREP), managed by the National Center of Meteorology (NCM), recently announced the sixth cycle of its research grants. Each awardee will receive $1.5 million over three years. Notably, two of the three winners this year are working on AI-based solutions to advance cloud-seeding technologies. This is hardly surprising, given that the UAE’s National Center of Meteorology is now seeking AI-powered solutions across the entire “rain chain,” from atmospheric modelling and cloud identification to operational decision-making.
Weather modification has long carried geopolitical sensitivities, and such interventions have triggered cross-border tensions. Iran, for instance, has accused Israel of harming its water resources through cloud-seeding operations that allegedly reduce rainfall over Iranian territory. China’s extensive weather-modification activities in the Tibetan Plateau have also raised concerns in India.
It is in light of these concerns that countries such as the UAE are increasingly seeking precision-based solutions and novel delivery methods for cloud-seeding activities. Traditionally, hygroscopic salt mixtures have been used for seeding operations; however, the process is marked by high unpredictability and inherent randomness. In recent years, the UAE has been conducting extensive experiments to explore alternatives to these conventional rain-making methods.
Since March 2021, the UAE has carried out experiments involving drones that discharge electrical charges into clouds—an approach considered less intrusive, though technologically intensive. One of this year’s research grant winners, Professor Linda Zou of Victoria University, Australia, is developing an alternative to standard salt-based seeding itself. Instead of conventional salt, Zou’s team is working with nano-composite materials—such as graphene-wrapped salt—that are designed to interact optimally with water vapour under the control of AI-driven analytics. The technology promises greater efficiency in “glaciogenic” seeding, in which cloud moisture is converted into ice crystals that later melt into rain.
Dr Dixon Michael, a principal radar meteorologist at Echo Science Works USA, and another winner this year, is using AI to address the long-standing “evaluation” problem in cloud seeding. Historically, it has been difficult to determine whether rainfall occurred because of seeding or would have happened naturally. Dr Michael’s technology combines dual-polarisation radar with AI to observe microphysical changes within clouds in real time. The system identifies precisely which “seeable patches” within a storm are likely to yield the most rain, allowing pilots to target them with surgical precision rather than seeding the entire cloud.
Interestingly, the UAE is also exploring ways to enhance rainfall without cloud seeding itself. The third research grant winner, Dr Oliver Branch of Germany, was recognised for AI-based simulations that examine whether large solar parks or artificial mountains could create “heat islands” that naturally force air upward and trigger cloud formation, without any seeding at all.