Rain falls in Abu Dhabi and Al Ain after cloud seeding mission

Large pools of water settled on roads

Motorists navigate rain in Al Ain. Photo: National Centre of Meteorology

Rain fell in Abu Dhabi and several areas of Al Ain on Saturday after successful cloud seeding efforts.

The National Centre of Meteorology (NCM) released footage on social media of large pools of water forming on roads.

A cloud seeding hashtag accompanied a number of videos of the downpours on the centre's Twitter account.

The NCM said the light to moderate spells of rain followed cloud seeding flights.

Earlier this week, one of the hottest places on earth, Sweihan, received some welcome wet weather thanks to the UAE's ongoing efforts to bolster its annual rainfall.

The light showers brought some respite after the summer heat. Sweihan recorded the highest daytime temperature on June 6 when the mercury soared to 51.8°C, making it the hottest place on Earth that day.

The weather forecaster predicted convective clouds would take shape in the skies during the afternoon to early evening on Saturday.

Convective clouds are ideal for cloud seeding.

Planes are fitted with special flares that are loaded with salt crystals and fired into convective, or warm, clouds that have an updraft or rising current of air.

The updraft then sucks the salt crystals up into the clouds where they attract tiny particles of water that collide, becoming heavier and then falling as rain.