(MENAFN- Muscat Daily) Muscat -
The Ministry of Regional Municipalities and Water Resources (MRMWR) has said that Oman witnessed an average 18 per cent increase in rainfall annually, following the introduction of its rain enhancement project - cloud ionisation.
Oman has been working on the project since 2013. The technology is considered to be one of best solutions to enhance water resources and reduce water deficit in the country, Eng Nasser Mohammed Nasser al Battashi, director general of Water Resources Assessment in MRMWR said.
'The results of the evaluation of the project according to the rainfall data recorded in the project's rainfall measurement stations and distributed on the eastern and western mountains range indicate that an estimated average rate of rain enhancement of around 18 per cent is recorded during the period of operation,' Eng Battashi said.
He added, 'This technology uses giant ionisers to generate fields of negatively charged ions which are pushed to the higher atmosphere by wind. When charged particles react with the clouds, it results in improved rainfall. In fact, the project aims at enhancing rainfall in Oman by stimulating the clouds generated during the summer season on the Eastern and Western Hajar and Dhofar mountain ranges through fixed earth stations like in the seeding process using silver iodide.
'This facilitates creation of raindrops rather than providing seed nucleus, taking into account the direction and the strength of wind.'
He added that this project comprises 12 ground stations distributed across the Eastern and Western Hajar mountain ranges, with more than 600 rainfall stations, database and servers of the project and accompanying software. The ionisation towers are switched on or off depending on cloud formation. 'The project team periodically evaluates and analyses the results to determine future plans,' Eng Battashi added.
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