Saudi Arabia's Cloud Seeding Program: 451 Flights, 4Bn Cubic Meters of Rain in 2023
In 2023, Saudi Arabia's Regional Cloud Seeding Program conducted 451 flights for cloud seeding and research, totaling 1,424 flight hours.
Of those flights, 415 were for cloud seeding (1,312:45 hours), and 36 were for research (111:29 hours).
Four cloud seeding planes and a research plane were used in six regions of the Kingdom.
The program reportedly launched 7,876 burners, resulting in 15 minutes of rain and an estimated four billion cubic meters of rainwater.
The Cloud Seeding Program's Executive Director, Ayman Al-Bar, stated that the program had completed four phases and was currently working on the fifth phase.
The text is about the use of cloud seeding technology to increase rainfall in certain clouds through the release of harmless materials from aircraft.
This technology is part of the Middle East Green Initiative, a program announced by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, and its first phase was launched in April 2022.
The goal is to maintain water balance, create new water sources, increase vegetation, and mitigate desertification and drought.
Cloud seeding is considered safe, flexible, and inexpensive.
The text describes a program that is part of larger national initiatives to promote sustainable development, protect the environment, and find new water sources in the Kingdom.
This program also helps prevent desertification and increase green spaces, aligning with the Vision 2030 goal.
The program includes a research aircraft, which is one of five in the Regional Cloud Seeding Program, used for both cloud seeding operations and research studies.