More than 200 bids have been submitted by scientists to the UAE Research Programme for Rain Enhancement, a national project that seeks to find new ways to increase rainfall in one of the driest countries on the planet,
Launched by the Ministry of Presidential Affairs of the UAE in early 2015 and managed by the UAE National Centre of Meteorology and Seismology (NCMS), the progrrame looks seeks to address water security challenges.
These pre-proposals represented 710 scientists and researchers affiliated with 316 institutions across 68 countries on five continents.
Offering a grant of US$5 million to be shared by up to five winning research proposals, the programme has generated extensive interest.
Officials hosted a series of meetings with leading UK researchers working on climatology and meteorology as part of its summer 2017 European roadshow this week.
Following a meeting with one of the awardees of the programme’s second cycle, Professor Giles Harrison of the University of Reading, the team visited the European Centre For Medium Weather Forecasts, the European Space Agency and Imperial College.
Prof Harrison’s project, 'Electrical aspects of rain generation,' is based on the natural occurrence of electrical charges and their potential to modify water droplets even when clouds are not charged to the extent that leads to thunderstorms.
This project will investigate the electrical properties of clouds through theoretical and experimental work, firstly to model the growth of charged drops to raindrops, and secondly to measure and modify charges using balloons and aircraft.
"Understanding the role of electric charge in the generation of rain could boost precipitation levels without the use of artificial chemicals,” said Professor Harrison.
“The UAE Research Programme for Rain Enhancement Science has already played a major role in allowing international science networks to flourish and identify new frontiers in cloud seeding science and technology.
"The team’s visit to the University of Reading will introduce them to the efforts made in the UK in areas related to atmospheric science, and I thank them for their invaluable efforts in providing scientists with the support they need to translate their ideas into reality."
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Read more:
Cloudy schemes to make it rain
Drones and rockets could be used for cloud-seeding, say experts
Cloudseeding explained: The business of rainmaking
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What the law says
Micro-retirement is not a recognised concept or employment status under Federal Decree Law No. 33 of 2021 on the Regulation of Labour Relations (as amended) (UAE Labour Law). As such, it reflects a voluntary work-life balance practice, rather than a recognised legal employment category, according to Dilini Loku, senior associate for law firm Gateley Middle East.
“Some companies may offer formal sabbatical policies or career break programmes; however, beyond such arrangements, there is no automatic right or statutory entitlement to extended breaks,” she explains.
“Any leave taken beyond statutory entitlements, such as annual leave, is typically regarded as unpaid leave in accordance with Article 33 of the UAE Labour Law. While employees may legally take unpaid leave, such requests are subject to the employer’s discretion and require approval.”
If an employee resigns to pursue micro-retirement, the employment contract is terminated, and the employer is under no legal obligation to rehire the employee in the future unless specific contractual agreements are in place (such as return-to-work arrangements), which are generally uncommon, Ms Loku adds.
What is hepatitis?
Hepatitis is an inflammation of the liver, which can lead to fibrosis (scarring), cirrhosis or liver cancer.
There are 5 main hepatitis viruses, referred to as types A, B, C, D and E.
Hepatitis C is mostly transmitted through exposure to infective blood. This can occur through blood transfusions, contaminated injections during medical procedures, and through injecting drugs. Sexual transmission is also possible, but is much less common.
People infected with hepatitis C experience few or no symptoms, meaning they can live with the virus for years without being diagnosed. This delay in treatment can increase the risk of significant liver damage.
There are an estimated 170 million carriers of Hepatitis C around the world.
The virus causes approximately 399,000 fatalities each year worldwide, according to WHO.
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