Our Correspondent
According to the directives of UAE President His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, mosques across the UAE hosted special rain prayers called Salaat Al Istisqaa on December 18. The special prayers were offered 10 minutes before the Friday prayer.
Sheikh Khalifa had called on residents to pray for “rain, mercy and abundance upon the country and its people”.
Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him) and his companions used to offer such prayers. Friday prayers in mosques had resumed across the country on December 4, at 30 per cent of their capacity.
Cloud seeding complements prayers
The UAE is among the water-stressed countries of the world, with an average rainfall of 100 mm per year. Hence cloud seeding plays an important role in ensuring water supply.
A total of 219 cloud seeding operations were conducted in the first six months of 2020 to enhance the country’s water supply, according to the National Centre of Meteorology (NCM).
Cloud seeding enhances rainfall from existing cloud formations. It is done by firing special flares that are loaded with salt crystals into convective clouds. The process then attracts tiny particles of water that collide and become heavier which then fall as rain.
From January to June, 4,841 flares as well as 419 ground generator flares were used by NCM’s Emirates Weather Enhancement Factory.
NCM has a sophisticated network of radars that monitor the country’s atmosphere around the clock and provide data on clouds. A team of pilots and technicians analyse the data and carry out cloud seeding operations once they detect seedable clouds.
Rain and winter
The Gulf’s rainy season begins in October. The 365-day ancient Drour calendar measures the year in 10-day cycles, or micro seasons, which are known in Arabic as dir.
Of the four seasons, 100 days each are allocated to autumn, winter and summer, followed by a 60-day season of intense heat that ends in late August. Five so-called stolen days are added for turbulent weather.
The season of intense heat ends when the star Suhail appears in the night sky in late August, and good weather begins a month after. Traditionally, this is the season when palm pollination and camel grazing begins.
October is also the season when tribes begin their annual migration to mountain villages after spending summer in date orchards.
