Dubai is located in one of the driest regions in the world. With the increasing population, the demand for drinking water is rising, which in turn encourages the development of new water production technologies.
By 2025, two-thirds of the world’s population could face water scarcity. Technology can be used in various ways, from regulating the climate to providing drinking water and extracting water from the air.
Dubai, being located in one of the driest regions in the world, is promoting the development of new water production technologies to meet the increasing demand for drinking water. One of the most unique technologies developed is cloud seeding.
What is cloud seeding? It is a weather manipulation technique that increases a cloud’s ability to produce precipitation. Before the plane that will be used is sent into the sky, meteorologists must choose the correct cloud for seeding.
This process only works in cumulus clouds, which are formed by upward currents of warm air. Pilots position their planes beneath the cloud and launch rockets loaded with hygroscopic salt particles.
As the sodium chloride and potassium chloride particles rise towards the cloud, they attract small water droplets into the cloud. These droplets combine and grow into larger raindrops, which fall to the ground because they are heavier.
In areas with low annual rainfall, this method creates a valuable water source that requires minimal energy consumption. An hour of cloud seeding can produce 100,000 cubic meters of water. More than 50 countries globally are already seeding clouds, not just to increase rainfall but also to reduce the size of hailstones in colder regions and avoid storm damage.
In dry regions with few lakes or rivers, people turn to the sea for drinking water. Over 90% of Dubai’s drinking water comes from the sea. Large desalination plants can produce vast amounts of drinking water using the reverse osmosis process.
According to Vanesa Fernandez Membrillera from O&M ACCIONA, desalination is very popular in the Gulf region. “Saltwater represents 98% of the world’s water resources and we suffer from a shortage of freshwater. The main advantage of this process is that.”
Water management in Dubai is moving toward a more integrated approach by 2030 to reduce water consumption by up to 30%, such as the Jebel Ali Desalination Plant.
Hydroelectric panels use solar energy to produce drinking water from the humidity in the air. Water parks that use this technology can create water from existing infrastructure without needing an energy source.
Sofia Berglund from Source Global explains how hydroelectric panels can be useful in polluted areas: “Before mineralization, there’s just pure H2O in the water. No pollutants can enter the water.”
Dr. Said El Hassan, founder of Manhattan, says that in some regions of Europe, solar energy can be harnessed more efficiently than in arid climates due to rain pushing dust and sand particles down, cleaning the air.
As the world’s population continues to grow exponentially, so does water consumption. Innovations in water production technologies like these play a crucial role in finding new ways to keep us hydrated.
