UAE Wants To Build Artificial Mountain To Increase Rainfall

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is reportedly in the initial stages of building a manmade mountain to maximize the chances of rainfall in the water starved country. The potential project could be one of the most ambitious undertakings by the Middle East nation, though it has not shied away from massive projects in the past in an effort to change its arid landscape.

Currently experts from the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research (UCAR), an US based organization that manages the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR), are studying the proposed model in detail as per a report in the Arabian Business, a Dubai based publication. A mountain can trap rainfall in a certain area, and the project wants to tap into this phenomenon. An artificial mountain can forcefully enable moist air to rise up, subsequently turning it into clouds, and result in rains.  

"What we are looking at is basically evaluating the effects on weather through the type of mountain, how high it should be and how the slopes should be," said Roelof Bruintjes from NCAR. "We will have a report of the first phase this summer as an initial step. The meteorological process called cloud seeding increases the amount or type of rainfall that these clouds can release." Water availability is a major concern in the Gulf region where growing economies and rising populations are a strain on the limited natural resources.

The experts have to address the issue of size and location as well as feasibility of creating a mountain, before any actual construction can take place. It is not an easy task to build a mountain, and as per reports the project will be dropped if it proves to be too expensive. However, ideas like this are good for figuring out alternatives in the long term future. At the moment, the project is in its detailed modeling study stage, and following its successful observation an engineering company will be consulted to gain insight into the practicality of constructing a full-fledged mountain.