The UAE could soon use artificial intelligence (AI) to bolster its cloud-seeding programme.
Scientists in the US are working on an algorithm that combines historical weather data with today's satellite reports, radar information and on the ground observations to predict where rain will fall and where is best to seed.
The software can then be used by teams on the ground in the UAE to direct seeding planes to these locations.
The work is being led by Dr Luca Delle Monache, deputy director of the Centre for Western Weather and Water Extremes at the University of California San Diego, who was awarded a $1.5 million grant this year by the UAE’s Research Programme for Rain Enhancement Science for the project.
With global droughts on the rise, the project is at the cutting-edge of machine learning that aims to help boost the planet’s water security.
“We think we will improve the whole procedure of cloud seeding with these algorithms,” Dr Delle Monache, an expert in numerical weather prediction, data simulation and machine learning, told The National.
“We need to learn what happened in the past to make a good estimate.
"We use two thirds of the data for training and one third to see how well we are doing at estimating precipitation. That’s how we build the machine-learning model.
"Once it is built, it can be used with the data from today. That’s the goal.”
More self-sufficient
With an arid climate, the UAE’s cloud-seeding programme aims to ensure water security, provide more rain for crops and help the UAE become more self-sufficient.
Seeding essentially attempts to wring more rain from a cloud and involves shooting flares containing materials such as salt, which attracts water, into potential clouds.
Dr Delle Monache said seeding does work but it is hard to quantify “the impact of a seeding procedure”.
Experts from the National Centre of Meteorology have previously said seeding could enhance rainfall by about 30 per cent in a clean atmosphere or by 15 per cent in a dusty atmosphere. But it is complex and more research is needed.
“Precipitation is generated by a series of atmospheric processes which interact one with another," he said. "It is very non-linear; even chaotic, so it is very difficult to predict the evolution. But there are several examples where it has shown to have worked if material is injected in right areas of clouds.
"This work could lead to a more successful attempt.”
Intense rainfall and flash floods have also occurred in the UAE over the past few weeks, yet Dr Delle Monache said storm clouds were not suitable for seeding.
"[This would be a] very intense storm with a lot of intense precipitation,” he said. "These storms are easily predicted and those are not the ones the algorithms would identify as suitable for seeding because there is already intense precipitation."
The project team also includes experts from the University of Colorado and the UAE’s Khalifa University and they will also use simulation to ensure there is a solid prototype to deliver to the NCM.
It is an exciting moment for Dr Della Monache, who said the cutting-edge research project could benefit the world.
"It is at the forefront of cloud-seeding research," he said.
“Whatever we develop here for the UAE can be used across the world."
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Tips to stay safe during hot weather
- Stay hydrated: Drink plenty of fluids, especially water. Avoid alcohol and caffeine, which can increase dehydration.
- Seek cool environments: Use air conditioning, fans, or visit community spaces with climate control.
- Limit outdoor activities: Avoid strenuous activity during peak heat. If outside, seek shade and wear a wide-brimmed hat.
- Dress appropriately: Wear lightweight, loose and light-coloured clothing to facilitate heat loss.
- Check on vulnerable people: Regularly check in on elderly neighbours, young children and those with health conditions.
- Home adaptations: Use blinds or curtains to block sunlight, avoid using ovens or stoves, and ventilate living spaces during cooler hours.
- Recognise heat illness: Learn the signs of heat exhaustion and heat stroke (dizziness, confusion, rapid pulse, nausea), and seek medical attention if symptoms occur.
THREE
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Tearful appearance
Chancellor Rachel Reeves set markets on edge as she appeared visibly distraught in parliament on Wednesday.
Legislative setbacks for the government have blown a new hole in the budgetary calculations at a time when the deficit is stubbornly large and the economy is struggling to grow.
She appeared with Keir Starmer on Thursday and the pair embraced, but he had failed to give her his backing as she cried a day earlier.
A spokesman said her upset demeanour was due to a personal matter.
Conflict, drought, famine
Estimates of the number of deaths caused by the famine range from 400,000 to 1 million, according to a document prepared for the UK House of Lords in 2024.
It has been claimed that the policies of the Ethiopian government, which took control after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie in a military-led revolution in 1974, contributed to the scale of the famine.
Dr Miriam Bradley, senior lecturer in humanitarian studies at the University of Manchester, has argued that, by the early 1980s, “several government policies combined to cause, rather than prevent, a famine which lasted from 1983 to 1985. Mengistu’s government imposed Stalinist-model agricultural policies involving forced collectivisation and villagisation [relocation of communities into planned villages].
The West became aware of the catastrophe through a series of BBC News reports by journalist Michael Buerk in October 1984 describing a “biblical famine” and containing graphic images of thousands of people, including children, facing starvation.
Band Aid
Bob Geldof, singer with the Irish rock group The Boomtown Rats, formed Band Aid in response to the horrific images shown in the news broadcasts.
With Midge Ure of the band Ultravox, he wrote the hit charity single Do They Know it’s Christmas in December 1984, featuring a string of high-profile musicians.
Following the single’s success, the idea to stage a rock concert evolved.
Live Aid was a series of simultaneous concerts that took place at Wembley Stadium in London, John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, the US, and at various other venues across the world.
The combined event was broadcast to an estimated worldwide audience of 1.5 billion.
UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
The Limehouse Golem
Director: Juan Carlos Medina
Cast: Olivia Cooke, Bill Nighy, Douglas Booth
Three stars
Coal Black Mornings
Brett Anderson
Little Brown Book Group
The specs: 2018 BMW R nineT Scrambler
Price, base / as tested Dh57,000
Engine 1,170cc air/oil-cooled flat twin four-stroke engine
Transmission Six-speed gearbox
Power 110hp) @ 7,750rpm
Torque 116Nm @ 6,000rpm
Fuel economy, combined 5.3L / 100km
Electric scooters: some rules to remember
- Riders must be 14-years-old or over
- Wear a protective helmet
- Park the electric scooter in designated parking lots (if any)
- Do not leave electric scooter in locations that obstruct traffic or pedestrians
- Solo riders only, no passengers allowed
- Do not drive outside designated lanes
