Floods in Dubai?!
Recently, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) faced its most [[intense::Strong or heavy.]] rainfall ever. This caused floods in Dubai, causing property and vehicle damage, stopping air travel, etc.
This kind of weather event is [[rare::Something that is not very common.]] in Dubai, as the area doesn’t receive much rain due to its dry climate. Some are saying the intense rain was caused due to cloud seeding.
Cloud seeding! What’s that?
Cloud seeding is the method used to make clouds release more rain by adding special chemicals like [[silver iodide::A pale yellow coloured chemical substance.]] to them.
This is done by releasing chemicals into the clouds using aeroplanes. The chemical substances help form raindrops, which then cause rainfall.
Cloud seeding has helped create [[artificial::Something that is man-made.]] rainfall in places including China and the UAE.
Although some believe cloud seeding caused heavy rain, many experts disagree and say it was not the reason.
Then what’s the real reason?
Climate experts think the UAE's high rainfall was likely caused by a regular weather pattern made worse by [[climate change::The way that Earth's weather is getting hotter, mostly due to human activity.]].
They also said that while cloud seeding can cause rainfall, it doesn’t cause heavy rainfall or flooding.
As the Earth gets warmer due to climate change, more water evaporates from oceans and lakes. This increases the atmosphere's moisture or water vapour levels, which can cause more storms and heavy rain.
A study suggests that as temperature rises, some areas of the UAE might receive more rain in the future.
Quick Revision
Dubai had record-breaking rain that caused big floods.
Some people said it happened because of cloud seeding, which makes a little extra rain.
Experts say cloud seeding did NOT cause the heavy rainfall.
The real cause was climate change, which makes the air wetter and storms stronger.
