Swiss scientists, based on the developments of the former Soviet Union, have created an installation by the order of the ruler of the emirate of Abu Dhabi, capable of causing rainfall in the desert. This is reported by the British media, citing data published by the Swiss company Meteo Systems
“In the Al Ain area of the emirate of Abu Dhabi, we are implementing an innovative technology called Weathertec to increase rainfall. We started work in June 2010 and we managed to cause several showers,”said Helmut Flyurer, founder of Meteo Systems.
The works are financed by the President of the United Arab Emirates Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the ruler of Abu Dhabi. The technology is based on developments in weather control using air ionization, which were carried out in the USSR.
Scientists have installed 20 ionizers in the desert around the city of Al Ain - installations resembling giant electric lamps on poles. They release into the atmosphere a huge amount of ions - electrically charged particles. Ions join the grains of dust, the huge masses of which are contained in the air in the Arabian deserts. Clouds of dust, carrying an electric charge, rise upward with hot air from the hot earth. Ions attract particles of water in the atmosphere. In turn, dust clouds absorb water, turning into thunderclouds, which are poured onto the ground by showers.
This process can be started when the air humidity rises to 30 percent. This often happens in the United Arab Emirates, located on the coast of the sea.
For 122 days, scientists turned on the ionizers 74 times. In 52 cases, this was followed by heavy rains in the desert, accompanied by lightning and squally winds. The abnormal weather this summer surprised the inhabitants of this desert region.
According to scientists, rainwater flowing in streams through the desert can be collected, purified and used. The developers of the technology claim that this technology is much more economical than water desalination plants.
Experts warn that the Swiss firm's experiences should be subjected to additional verification. However, the results received positive feedback from colleagues, including the prestigious Max Planck Institute for Meteorology in Berlin.
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In the USSR, a technology was developed to prevent rains in large cities, based on the spraying of ionized particles in the atmosphere, causing precipitation outside the city. Experiments on air ionization in the 30s were carried out by the outstanding scientist Alexander Chizhevsky. In October 2009, an experiment was carried out in Moscow to prevent precipitation using an air ionizer known as the Chizhevsky chandelier. Scientists expected that due to the operation of the installation, rain clouds would rise into the high layers of the atmosphere and disperse there. However, the experiment failed, possibly because of the low power of the ionizer.