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National Center of Meteorology drives ground breaking research to provide innovative answers to water security challenges
Leading international organizations are warning that a combination of rising populations, resource depletion and climate change threaten almost half of the world’s population with high water stress within the next decade.
The World Bank reported that 1.6 billion people live in countries and regions with absolute water shortage and predicts that this number will rise to 2.8 billion people by 2025. To raise awareness about what it regards as one of the critical challenges of the 21st century, the United Nations has focused international attention on the issue through an annual World Water Day that aims to encourage leaders, stakeholders and innovators to address this urgent problem.
In response to these global concerns, the UAE has offered a novel approach to the water security challenge by seeking to develop the science and technology of rain enhancement.
The UAE Research Program for Rain Enhancement Science, launched under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, UAE Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Presidential Affairs, offers a US$5 million grant designed to encourage understanding of climate phenomena and improve the efficiency of targeted cloud seeding operations.
Since its establishment, NCM has built up a strong track record in addressing technical challenges such as the collation and analysis of data on specific local cloud patterns, the selection and deployment of seeding materials for use, and identifying and tracking suitable clouds.
Omar Al Yazeedi, Director of Research, Development and Training at the NCM, explained: “Our operations have focused on towering cumuliform clouds, which are the most common rain-bearing clouds in the UAE. Naturally, there are different properties for each cloud. Based on our previous seeding operations, we estimate that cloud seeding operations can enhance rainfall by as much as 30-35 percent in a clean atmosphere, and by up to 10-15 percent in a turbid atmosphere.”
Using a variety of research methods including mathematical analysis and field experimentation, the Center’s work on rain enhancement is being developed within the context of a broad range of work on atmospheric phenomena and processes including boundary layer research, cloud dynamics, precipitation processes, and cloud and aerosol research.
To support its research mandate and ensure real time monitoring of meteorological phenomena for the concerned authorities in the UAE, NCM has established a national network of 75 automatic weather stations, six weather Doppler radar stations, and a cloud satellite monitoring station.
“To build on what we have achieved so far, we are working closely with UAE Research Program for Rain Enhancement Science awardees on new precipitation enhancement methods, including improving our understanding of local conditions and more effective cloud seeding techniques,” added Mr Al Yazeedi.
In supporting Program awardees, NCM is deploying the considerable expertise and data resources it has built up in collaboration with prominent international and regional organizations such as the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and the Standing Committee for Meteorology and Climate for the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC).
The significant progress already made by the Program will be further accelerated when three further awardee research projects will be announced at an awards ceremony held at the Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week (ADSW), in January 2018. These awardees have been chosen from an intensely competitive process last year that involved 201 submissions received, from 710 scientists and researchers affiliated to 316 institutions spread across 68 countries on five continents.
ADSW will also feature the UAE Research Program for Rain Enhancement Science’s Second International Forum on Rain Enhancement Science. As a platform for discussion on the Program’s awardee research projects, the event will bring together world leading international experts covering the entire spectrum of research into innovations to boost global water security.
Mr Al Yazeedi said: “Our Awards Ceremony and International Forum will give us the opportunity to share our research achievements with some of the best minds in the field. The fact that we are now playing a leading international role in rain enhancement research reflects how much we have achieved through our dedication to research and innovation over the last 10 years.”
By establishing the NCM and the UAE Research Program for Rain Enhancement Science as a global focal point for some of the best current work in a rapidly expanding field, the UAE has demonstrated its commitment to scientific advancement and effective research collaboration.
In the quest for sustainable water supplies, rain enhancement is likely to become an increasingly important part of national resource strategies in regions subject to water stress. For the UAE, the success of the Program confirms both its success in building a knowledge-based economy and making a real impact in providing the leadership needed to address a challenge of global concern.
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About the UAE Research Program for Rain Enhancement Science
The UAE Research Program for Rain Enhancement Science, an initiative of the UAE Ministry of Presidential Affairs and overseen by the National Center of Meteorology (NCM), offers a grant of 5 million US dollars over a three-year period to be shared by up to five winning research proposals. The Program was launched with the aims of addressing water security challenges and placing the UAE at the international forefront of scientific research into rain enhancement. In the context of the UAE’s Innovation Strategy, the Program is structured to develop human capital and stimulate investment in research in this field for the benefit of arid and semi-arid regions around the world.
For more information about the Program: www.uaerep.ae
English and Arabic Media Enquiries:
Mohamed Al Mheiri
Head of Media and Marketing
National Center of Meteorology
PO Box 4815
Abu Dhabi
United Arab Emirates
Tel: +971 2 222 7777
Email: malmuhairi@ncms.ae
