UAE Accelerates Cloud Seeding

In recent months the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has dramatically increased the pace of cloud seeding operations.  Although the government launched a small-scale rainfall enhancement program ten years ago that grew gradually over the past decade, the number of cloud seeding flights in 2013 already surpasses all operations in 2012 by more than 30 percent.  In the month of April alone, the UAE's National Center for Meteorology and Seismology (NCMS) conducted 47 separate missions.  Operations typically involve four airplanes firing flares containing salt crystals (potassium chloride and sodium chloride) in an attempt to induce increased rainfall.  The government is seeking to boost dwindling water supplies in the desert country.