Oman's ambitious project to increase rainwater availability has yielded enormous results, with the total rate of additional rainfall received by the country reaching 13.6 per cent, according to the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Water Resources (MoAFWR).
Speaking to the Observer on the sidelines of the Oman Water Week being held at the Oman Convention and Exhibition Centre, Saif al Toubi, Head of Operations and Maintenance Department at the Artificial Rain Enhancement Centre at the MoAFWR, stated that rainfall enhancement is a national project aimed at enhancing water resources and reducing water deficits in the Sultanate of Oman.
"The government of the Sultanate of Oman has been working on the Rainfall Enhancement Project since 2012, with the first operation commencing in 2013," he said.
Currently, there are 13 rainfall enhancement stations in Oman, with 11 located in the eastern and western Hajar Mountains, and two in the Dhofar mountain range. Together, they were able to bring in 13.5 per cent of additional rainwater to the country.
The Rainfall Enhancement Project aims to expand the number of rainfall enhancement stations to cover wider areas, depending on meteorological and geological conditions.
The rainfall enhancement project in Oman uses ionisation technology, which is considered environmentally friendly.
Factors that contribute to enhancing rainfall include temperature and relative humidity (above 50 per cent), wind direction in different layers, convection and cloud formation during the summer season, upward air motion, height of rainfall enhancement station, north-easterly winds, and south-westerly winds.
Plans are in place to study and research the newest and most developed rainfall enhancement technologies to further increase the amount of rainfall and mitigate some of the difficulties and risks associated with current technology. The centre is also collaborating with companies specialising in developing rainfall enhancement projects and technologies.
The ministry has established 13 rainwater enhancement centres across 5 governorates. The ministry’s station network contains 643 rain gauge stations distributed across the country, while 75 weather stations are owned by the Directorate-General of Meteorology.
Various factors influence the selection of a site to build a rainfall enhancement station in Oman, such as the presence of ophiolite rocks as solar collectors, elevation of the location, accessibility, paved roads, availability of water resources like wadis and aflaj, suitable weather and climatic conditions, and cloud formation.
The centre has conducted experiments with solar collectors to develop rainfall enhancement projects in Al Mudhaibi. Solar collectors absorb solar radiation and heat up, leading to heating the air above them, creating a vertical movement that can enhance rainfall.
In order to analyse rainfall enhancement data from 2013 to 2022, the Rainfall Enhancement Centre has partnered with the Institute for Environmental Analytics (IEA) from the University of Reading, UK. The data collected from the Ministry and Directorate-General of Meteorology showed positive results, with an enhancement rate of 13.6 per cent.
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