The UAE Research Program for Rain Enhancement Science (UAEREP), under the supervision of National Center of Meteorology (NCM), is set to organize the 4^th International Rain Enhancement Forum (IREF) from January19 to 21, 2020.

A global platform held in the UAE capital every year, IREF convenes under its umbrella prominent national and international experts, researchers, scientist, and stakeholders to examine pressing sustainability issues.

The annual event aims to highlight the latest scientific and technological advancements with a view to finding new water security solutions through rain enhancement.

Commenting on the significance of the Forum, His Excellency Dr Abdulla Al Mandous, Executive Director of NCM and President of the Regional Association II (Asia) of the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), said: “Since its inception, IREF has played a key role in positioning the UAE as global hub for driving research efforts in rain enhancement science to find practical solutions to global water stress. The forum continues to receive an overwhelming response from international experts and researchers, demonstrating its significance as an important platform to discuss the latest innovations in rain enhancement and water sustainability. In its upcoming edition, IREF will highlight our latest research achievements, as well as the potential applications of the awardee projects within several key sectors. ”

For her part, Alya Al Mazroui, Director of the UAE Research Program for Rain Enhancement Science (UAEREP), said: “IREF plays a key role in bringing together leading international experts in rain enhancement research. It aims to facilitate targeted discussions around a broad range of topics related to cloud seeding, attracting growing international attention due to its significant role in addressing water stress and declining rainfall around the globe. Such trends necessitate the concerted efforts of various stakeholders, especially the scientific and research community, through stepping up research efforts and conducting new studies that address global water resource challenges especially in countries facing water shortage and droughts. Since its inception, UAEREP has offered significant support to the scientific community and encouraged experts to conduct innovative research projects that advance rain enhancement science and address major water security issues.”

In hosting IREF, the program aims to strengthen its engagement with local and international experts to find innovative solutions that benefit regions at risk of water scarcity and the threat of drought. In convening key experts and leading scientists, the forum will contribute to developing effective strategies that secure and sustain freshwater across the globe, while positioning the country as a global hub in rain enhancement and promoting its key role in transferring knowledge.

As a regular annual event, IREF will facilitate productive discussion between the program’s awardees and the many leading scientists in attendance on the broadest possible range of topics related to rain enhancement science.

Promoting collaborative research on rain enhancement science and technology globally, the forum will give an overview of the UAE Research Program for Rain Enhancement Science’s role in capacity-building globally, while highlighting its collaborative work with international universities and research institutes.

The forum will highlight the advances made in the fields of modeling (Numerical Weather Prediction), artificial intelligence applications to weather, novel materials and methodologies implemented for rain enhancement and stimulation, evaluation methods for rain enhancement efforts, and the transitioning from research to operations. and implementation of Nano Technology to develop novel materials. It will also be an opportunity for the panelists to discuss their innovative solutions to water scarcity challenges and the progress in optimizing the utilization of water as a sustainable resource.

IREF’s sessions will showcase the progress and achievements of the UAE Research Program for Rain Enhancement Science’s nine awarded projects, led by distinguished multinational awardees over the past three years.

A special highlight of the event this year will be the unveiling of the results of the completed work of the Program’s three Second Cycle awardees. Their work covers a diverse range of research such as leveraging ice production processes in cumulus clouds, conducting comprehensive quantification of the role of atmospheric aerosols in precipitation enhancement, and implementing surface, balloon and UAV measurements and supercomputing to fully represent the effect of turbulence on droplet growth.

There will also be a focus on the potential applications of the awardees’ research to a range of planned projects in the years to come, including progress updates on the plan to integrate their findings into an advanced model entitled ‘Integrating Schemes from UAEREP projects into a unified multi-component atmospheric model’. Aimed at improving cloud seeding methods through leveraging the research findings of awardee projects, the collaborative scientific venture will increase the accuracy of weather forecasts related to clouds amenable to seeding operations in the UAE.

The forum will also cover updates on the project entitled ‘Nano-technology Seeding Material Evaluation’, specifically on its test phase to prove its efficacy and potential for broader use under a range of climatic conditions, as part of its transition from research in the lab to operations in the field.

Other forum panel sessions will cover the role of rain enhancement in the global picture of water resource challenges and solutions, capacity building in meteorological research and operations and utilizing artificial intelligence in weather forecasts and precipitation enhancement.