James Dinneen in New Scientist:
Record rainfall hit the Arabian peninsula this week, causing flooding in Dubai and Abu Dhabi, as well as other coastal cities in the United Arab Emirates. The extreme weather prompted speculation on social media about whether the UAE’s longstanding cloud-seeding programme played a role. But cloud seeding almost certainly didn’t have any significant hand in the flooding.
In the UAE, it was the most extreme such event since records began in 1949, according to the state-run Emirates News Agency. Between 15 and 16 April, several parts of the country saw more rain in 24 hours than normally falls in an entire year. Heavy rains are unusual for the desert region, although not unheard of – the UAE saw heavy rain and flooding in 2016, for instance.
More here.