National Centre Of Meteorology Hosts Webinar On ‘Rainfall Trends In UAE And Arabian Peninsula’

National Centre of Meteorology hosts webinar on ‘Rainfall Trends in UAE and Arabian Peninsula’

ABU DHABI, (Pakistan Point News - 15th Sep, 2021) The National Centre of Meteorology (NCM) has hosted a virtual session titled ‘Rainfall Trends in United Arab Emirates and Arabian Peninsula’ as part of the Rain Enhancement Hub webinar series organised by the UAE Research Programme for Rain Enhancement Science (UAEREP).

Dr. Abdulla Al Mandous, Director of NCM and President of the Regional Association II (Asia) of WMO, said, "This webinar series will significantly contribute to the advancement of rain enhancement research that is critical to addressing global water stress and meeting the surging demand for this vital resource. We are confident that the topics covered by its sessions will be an important reference for various stakeholders. Furthermore, they support the objectives of the programme in building an integrated global research community to tackle various topics related to rain enhancement, especially in drought-prone areas across the globe."

In his presentation, Taha Ouarda, Professor and Chairman, Canada Research Chair in Statistical Hydro-Climatology at National Institute of Scientific Research, outlined the evolution and the dynamics of the precipitation regime in the UAE. He presented an analysis of the total annual, seasonal and monthly rainfall; annual, seasonal and monthly maximum rainfall; and the number of rainy days per year, season and month as recorded by a number of meteorological stations in the UAE for assessment of trends and detection of change points.

Diana Francis, Senior Research Scientist, and Head of the Environmental and Geophysical Sciences (ENGEOS) Lab at Khalifa University discussed the rainfall patterns in Arabian Peninsula. She showed that there are effective systems in a pressure lower and upper layers of the atmosphere, which play an important role in cloud formation and precipitation, and the amount and duration of rainfall depends on different weather elements describing the current conditions prevailing the region.

For her part, Alya Al Mazroui, Director of UAEREP, said, "This virtual session serves as an ideal platform for the members of global rain enhancement and weather modification research community and those interested in this emerging research field to gain further insight about rainfall patterns in the UAE and the wider region. In hosting the Rain Enhancement Hub webinar series, we seek to highlight the different research and practical approaches of rain enhancement science. The strong participation leading local and international scholars, researchers and experts in these sessions allows us to examine the different aspects of this vital research domain."

In hosting the ‘Rain Enhancement Hub’ webinar series, NCM aims to provide an interactive virtual platform to bring together the members of research community to share knowledge and expertise in rain enhancement science and weather modification and to educate the public about their crucial role in achieving global water security.