Climate communicator MrEarthGuy (@mrearthguy) took some time to set the record straight about destructive rainfall in the United Arab Emirates.
"There are plenty of conspiracies going around. No, cloud seeding was not the culprit here," he concluded.
@mrearthguy #dubai rains cause chaos! was it #cloudseeding or is there a more natural culprit #earthday #geology #science #news #disaster #stem ♬ Blade Runner 2049 - Synthwave Goose
Cloud seeding is the practice of spraying nontoxic particles high in the atmosphere to attempt to give water vapor something to cling to. This helps precipitation form. The UAE has been engaging in the practice since the 1990s since rainfall is so rare in the region, per a research paper published by Abu Dhabi University. Even with those ongoing attempts, there's little evidence that seeding is effective, Science reported.
In April 2024, the UAE experienced violent storms that paralyzed the city for days. At one point, it received over 250 millimeters of rain in under 24 hours. On average, the UAE receives 78 mm of precipitation annually, World Bank revealed. The 2024 storm was the heaviest rainfall the country had had in 75 years, per a tweet from the UAE Government Media Office. The resulting floods shut down the Dubai airport and caused four deaths, Reuters reported. The government said no seeding took place before the storm, CNBC said.
Human-made pollution has proved to be the biggest reason behind more frequent violent weather events and their increasing intensity. The result is areas such as the UAE being hit with weather that they are unequipped to manage, which causes material and human damage.
Cloud seeding has been the target of conspiracy theories for some time, but they bear little weight. Scientists have already established doubt about the role of cloud seeding in the UAE's storms. One scientist put it quite clearly: "You can't create rain out of thin air per se and get 6 inches of water." The UAE floods came from a low pressure system over the nearby Persian Gulf.
That said, it's important to trust experts and be able to combat misinformation with a standing familiarity with climate issues. Engaging with friends and family in a civil way about the quality of information can help ensure everyone's acting constructively given the threats at hand.
Reddit commenters were quick to call out the false links between cloud seeding and Dubai's flooding.
"The storm was over Iran, Oman, Qatar, and even Saudi. I saw it yesterday in live weather satellite. So yeah, cloud seeding didn't cause the rain," one commenter said.
"Even if all these countries banded together for cloud seeding, they couldn't create something of this magnitude," another said.
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