Lasers to trigger rains? UAE lab tests show it’s possible

A research project exploring how lasers can be used to trigger rainfall in the UAE has reached a key milestone, with laboratory tests confirming the feasibility of laser-induced water condensation.

This comes as the Strategic Directions Committee of the UAE Research Program for Rain Enhancement Science (UAEREP) completed its midterm review of the study at the Technology Innovation Institute (TII) in Abu Dhabi.

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Led by Dr Guillaume Matras, Senior Director of Directed Energy Research Centre, the project examines how high-power lasers can influence cloud formation and stimulate water droplets under controlled conditions.

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Researchers are now preparing for field trials using a Mobile High-Power Pulsed Laser Demonstrator equipped with remote sensing systems that can be deployed across various locations in the UAE.

In parallel, the project’s modelling capabilities have been expanded through collaborations with international partners. The simulations will help recreate UAE-specific weather patterns such as convective clouds over the Hajar Mountains and summer clouds in the western region.

Dr Abdulla Al Mandous, Director General of the National Center of Meteorology (NCM) and President of the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO), called laser-based rain enhancement a “promising innovation that supports our efforts to improve rainfall in arid and semi-arid regions.”

Alya Al Mazroui, Director of the UAE Research Program for Rain Enhancement Science (UAEREP), said the project positions the UAE at the forefront of innovation in laser-based rainfall enhancement. “By integrating experimental physics, advanced atmospheric modelling and AI-powered diagnostics, it explores novel approaches to weather modification,” she said.

Sahim Salim

Staff Writer

• 

sahim@khaleejtimes.com

As Associate Editor, Sahim Salim helps tell the UAE story like no one else does — and leads a team of reporters that asks the questions to get news and headlines that matter.