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Dubai Floods Linked to Climate Change, Not Cloud Seeding

Climate and Weather

Dubai, Floods, rainfall, Gabi Hegerl, UAE

Business Honor
18 April, 2024

Experts highlight climate change as the key factor behind unprecedented rainfall in the UAE.

Severe flooding hit the United Arab Emirates and Oman after the record storm reached the region. Almost a quarter century of rainfall, 254 millimeters of rain in Al Ain, fell within the span of 24 hours. This had last happened since 1949 when such a deluge occurred. The heavy rain caused floods as well as chaos on the traffic and school closes too, evoking the query if such a calamity is tackled by the region or not.

Immediately after the storm, controversy regarding cloud seeding, the UAE habitually employs to enhance rainfall, arose, but a statement from UAE's meteorological agency put an end to such contemplation and shifted the debate to extreme natural events caused by global warming.

Experts said the heavy rain was due to a low-pressure system that released energy more liberally as warmer ground temperatures came into juxtaposition with colder air aloft. "It's all in favor of strong storms such as what we witnessed today," said Esraa Alnaqbi, a senior forecaster at the UAE government's National Centre of Meteorology.

According to climate scientists, the increase in extreme weather conditions, including heavy rainfall, is mainly caused by rising global temperature, which is induced primarily by human activity. When warmed, the atmosphere can hold more moisture, and thus intensified thunderstorms, according to professor Dim Coumou, an expert on climate extremes research.

This increased atmospheric moisture from global warming may then lead to heavier rainfall if circumstances are properly set right," says Gabi Hegerl, a climatologist. This type of incident again shows the increasing seriousness of climate change, and incidents like this will become common in regions such as the UAE.

This is one incident that reminds us of the immediate need to ensure better infrastructure and adaptive mechanisms that can make the changes more acceptable and bearable.