
Important Takeaways:
- Taking place at the Conrad Abu Dhabi, Etihad Towers between January 28 and 30, 2025 the 7th International Rain Enhancement Forum (IREF) invites the world’s leading experts, researchers, policymakers and weather scientists to discuss a range of topics related to cloud seeding and rain enhancement programs.
- The conference, which boasts more than 65 headline speakers, will include such fascinating topics as the use of Artificial Intelligence, the deployment of drones, the potential efficacy of new cloud-seeding materials, limited-area climate interventions, hybrid AI-physics models, and completely novel approaches
- “The 7th edition of IREF represents a landmark event in the global dialogue on water sustainability and weather enhancement, focusing on key topics that will shape the future of rainfall enhancement applications, particularly the transformative potential of AI and other technological breakthroughs.”
- To date, the UAEREP has been able to rain down Dhs82.6 million on 14 research projects, which have yielded the precipitation of eight patents, with a further three pending registration.
- The UAE carries out nearly 300 cloud seeding missions annually as part of its efforts to enhance rainfall.
- The statistical randomization experiment conducted during the summers of 2004 and 2005 demonstrated that cloud seeding can enhance precipitation by 15 per cent in a turbid atmosphere. This enhancement ratio could potentially reach up to 25 per cent in a clean atmosphere.
- The UAE uses environmentally friendly materials (hygroscopic materials) in flares that contain natural salts such as potassium chloride and sodium chloride. Lately, the country has started using novel nanomaterials (hygroscopic and hydrophilic materials) that have exhibited greater efficiency than conventional materials in enhancing precipitation.
- The first attempt at cloud seeding took place in February 1982 over a specific area to the west of the country under the management of Abu Dhabi Municipality. During this time, numerous experiments were performed without any scientific bases.
- The UAE cloud-seeding program started at the end of the 1990s. By early 2001, the program was cooperating with well-known organizations such as the National Centre for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) in Colorado, USA, as well as the Witwatersrand University in South Africa and the US Space Agency, NASA.
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