The rainmaking technology, known as “cloud seeding,” was put
into use as summer temperatures have surged past 120 degrees Fahrenheit in the
United Arab Emirates city, the Independent reported.
Scientists have said the technology aims to make rain form more
efficiently inside clouds and in doing so, make more water come down.
Drones are used to shoot electrical charges into clouds, causing
them to clump together and trigger more rainfall.
Footage shared on Sunday by the UAE’s National Center of Meteorology showed the intense showers flooding roads in addition to flashes of lightning.
Rainmaking has become common in dry countries such as the United Arab Emirates, which typically only records four inches of rain a year, the Independent reported.
“The global water shortage is worsening in many parts of the world, so the demand for fresh water is increasing,” said Linda Zou, a professor at the UAE’s Khalifa University of Science and Technology. "Rainmaking has become common in dry countries such as the United Arab Emirates. Cloud seeding could be one of the methods that can contribute to alleviating the water problem.”
But natural health experts say, laudable as artificial rainfall may be, it comes with negative health implications. One of these is the uncertainty of targeting - Once you release these "seed", it is then up to nature to do the rest. There is a risk seeds will get carried by the wind and go off target. Then these seeds may produce rain in the place you don't need it, And the place you wanted it to rain remained dry.
Even more worrisome,
there is not enough time for test to effects of 'seeds’ - Most cloud
seeding operations will use a chemical called silver iodide as the main
ingredient for these 'seeds'. There are still many questions about how safe it
is for long term exposure or consumption of this chemical for plants, animals,
and humans. Health problems and environmental impact ranges from toxicities of
excess silver iodide. Silver iodide causes respiratory and skin disorders too.
It also causes renal and pulmonary lesions and also Argyria. Argyria is a
situation where the discoloration of skin takes place.
However, the toxicity of silver and silver compounds
(from silver iodide) was shown to be of low order in some studies. These
findings likely result from the minute amounts of silver generated by cloud
seeding, which are 100 times less than industry emissions into the atmosphere
in many parts of the world, or individual exposure from tooth fillings.
There are also the
ecological side-effects. With the
artificial production of rain, the lives of several animals will definitely be
at stake. It’s not only the fauna but also the flora which has an equal risk
too. Thus, all the living organisms are supposedly threatened too even though
it is done for a common benefit.
