NCM chief reviews cloud seeding program

JEDDAH — Dr. Ayman Ghulam, CEO of the National Center of Meteorology (NCM), reviewed on Tuesday the results of the work of the fifth and sixth phases of Saudi Arabia’s ambitious cloud seeding program. Ghulam, who is also supervisor of the Regional Cloud Seeding Program, monitored the successes achieved by the program in the atmosphere of the regions of Riyadh, Qassim, Hail, Taif, Al-Baha and Asir.

He reviewed the results of the research aircraft samples recently included in the program’s business plan, and the positive results reached by the researchers for the next stages. Dr. Ghulam followed up on the plan to localize the program in the sectors of human resources and technological capabilities. He also delivered a motivational speech to the newly joined pilots of the program. The NCM chief also approved the operational plan for the cloud seeding program for the year 2024.

For his part, Executive Director of the Cloud Seeding Program Ayman Bar said that the program had carried out as many as 410 cloud seeding flights and 36 research flights in six regions until last month, with a total of 1299:23 hours of cloud seeding and 111:29 hours of research using four cloud seeding planes and one research plane during which 7876 burners were launched, resulting in 15 minutes of rain.

The Regional Cloud Seeding Program is one of the achievements of the Middle East Green Initiative. The operations for the first phase of the cloud seeding program were launched on April 27, 2022, to increase precipitation levels, create new sources of water, increase green space and intensify vegetation to face desertification, and mitigate drought through qualified national personnel with the highest skill levels