Gulf Nations Engulfed in Heavy Rains Likely Caused by Cloud Seeding, 19 Killed in Oman
Vicious storms have swept across Gulf States, specifically the UAE, flooding Dubai’s international airport and causing heavy disruptions to travel.
The largest rain ever recorded in the UAE has left the nation in a dilemma, calling it a “historic weather event” that surpassed “anything documented since the start of data collection in 1949.”
Heavy rain also hit neighboring Gulf states such as Bahrain, Oman, Qatar and Saudi Arabia, but the UAE received the greatest impact.
The heavy rains were likely caused by the UAE’s “cloud seeding,” where small planes fly through clouds burning special salt flares that could increase precipitation.
According to reports, meteorologists flew six to seven cloud-seeding flights before the rains. Flight-tracking data also showed one aircraft that flew around the country on Monday, April 15, 2024.
More than 142 millimeters of rainfall had drenched Dubai in a span of 23 hours, disrupting the busy city.
A couple spoke to AP News, in anonymity due to the country’s strict laws that criminalize critical speech, saying that the situation at the airport was “absolute carnage.”
“You cannot get a taxi. There’s people sleeping in the Metro station. There’s people sleeping in the airport,” the man said.
They found a taxi near their home which was 18 miles away. A bystander then helped them through.
“Recovery will take some time,” the airport said on the social platform X.
Emirates said the airline had paused check-in for passengers departing from Dubai trying to clear the airport of transit passengers who were sleeping wherever they could in the terminals.
In Oman, 19 people were killed due to heavy rains, including 10 school children who were swept away.
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