Saudi Arabia approves cloud-seeding program to induce more rainfall

Saudi Arabia approves cloud-seeding program to induce more rainfall

Saudi Arabia plans to artificially induce more rainfallin the Kingdom as the cabinet approved on Tuesday a program for cloud-seedingpresented by the minister of environment, water, and agriculture.

Ayman Ghulam, vice president ofthe General Authority for Meteorology and Environment Protection, toldAl Arabiya on Wednesday tests will be conducted in the Kingdom's southwestregion, and if the experiments are successful the process will be implementedall over the country.

To seed a cloud, pilotsintroduce a chemical agent, commonly silver iodide or salt crystals. It drawsmoisture to itself, allowing the cloud's water vapor to condense into dropletsand produce rain, according to the World Meteorological Organization(WMO).

The Kingdom relies mainly ondesalinated water and is one of the largest producers of desalinated water inthe world and is home to some of the world's largest desalination plants.

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