United Arab Emirates to test cloud-busting drones to producing rainfall

CNI Desk: Drones that fly into clouds, giving them an electric shock to "cajole them" into producing rain, are about to be tested in the United Arab Emirates.

The country already uses cloud-seeding technology, dropping salt to encourage precipitation.

But with average rainfall in the UAE at just 100mm per year, the country wants to generate more.

 

In 2017, the government provided $15m (£10.8m) for nine different rain-enhancement projects.

Scientists at the University of Reading are heading one of them.

The project aims to change the balance of electrical charge on cloud droplets, explained Prof Maarten Ambaum, who worked on the project.