Dubai’s recent announcement to invest 8 billion USD in building a comprehensive stormwater drainage system highlights the importance of climate change resilience. The initiative comes after heavy rainfall caused severe flooding just two months ago, paralyzing the desert city for several days. Construction of the new stormwater drainage network is set to begin immediately and will be completed by 2033.
The extensive system will cover the entire area of Dubai and have the capacity to absorb over 20 million cubic meters of water daily. Sheikh Mohammed emphasized the importance of this project for the city, which serves as the center of the United Arab Emirates. The need for such a large-scale project became evident after record-breaking rainfall on April 16th led to severe flooding, causing chaos in the city. Streets turned into rivers, homes were inundated, and even Dubai International Airport experienced issues due to the lack of proper drainage.
The heavy rain event was said to be the most severe in 75 years and resulted in at least four fatalities. Following the deluge, Dubai had to utilize trucks equipped with large hoses to drain stagnant water that accumulated. Sheikh Mohammed highlighted that the new stormwater drainage system will increase the city’s capacity by 700% and better prepare it for future climate challenges, especially in a world where extreme weather events are becoming more commonplace due to global warming.
While some speculated that Dubai’s cloud seeding operations may have contributed to the heavy rainfall, experts and authorities dismissed this notion. Dubai has been using cloud seeding since 2002 as a method to increase rainfall for water needs, but it has never caused such severe consequences. Meteorologist Ahmed Habib confirmed that cloud seeding occurred a few days before
