The UAE Research Programme for Rain Enhancement Science’s Second International Forum on Rain Enhancement Science opened today at the 2018 Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week, ADSW.

Held over three days from 16-18 January, the forum is providing a platform for discussion on the newly awarded research projects from the Programme ’s Third Cycle as well as updates on breakthroughs made by the First and Second Cycle research teams. The event has already established an international reputation for facilitating the exchange of ideas on the latest research and potential innovations in a promising field that is aiding the quest for global water security.

Dr. Abdulla Al Mandous, Director of the National Centre of Meteorology, NCM, said, "The Second International Forum on Rain Enhancement Science gathers together an outstanding field of leading international innovators in this important field. Over the next three days, the Forum will see the exchange and discussion of some of the most cutting-edge ideas with the potential to boost water security for vulnerable populations around the world. Through its commitment to leading international collaboration on this vitally important challenge, the UAE is once again showing its readiness to promote the innovation needed to make a real difference."

Since it was launched under the auspices of H.H. Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Presidential Affairs, the UAE Research Programme for Rain Enhancement Science has established itself as a leading international focal point for cutting-edge scientific advances based on the analysis and the implementation of new technologies specifically developed to improve knowledge of weather, clouds and precipitation.

The programme’s three First Cycle awardees, based in UAE, Japan and Germany, are undertaking projects on the use of nanotechnology to accelerate water condensation, the potential of innovative algorithms to enhance knowledge of cloud characteristics and precipitation, and land cover modification to enhance precipitation. Further projects led by Second Cycle awardees, featuring leading researchers from the US, Finland and UK, are working respectively on leveraging ice production processes in cumulus clouds, quantifying atmospheric aerosols in precipitation enhancement, and analyzing the electrical properties of clouds, also commenced in 2017.