Artificial rain project in Horn of Africa Wednesday, 07 September 2011 04:18

BY RAYNALD C RIVERA

DOHA: Aquiess, a company expert on weather modification, is in talks with Qatar for a possible sponsorship of their ‘Rainaid’ Campaign aimed at bringing rain in the Horn of Africa to put an end to the devastating drought-famine currently experienced in the region.

“Qatar is known for the important role it plays in world affairs. In fact the Emir H H Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani has shown commitment in developing new technology to achieve food security in Qatar and the world,” David Miles, CEO of Aquiess told the media yesterday, adding they are discussing the possibility for Qatar to sponsor the initiative.

After recently outlining their plan to Qatar, Miles said they are now in the process of consultation and follow up with the concerned Qatari authorities.

The project which will cost $10m will bring gentle soaking rain to the Horn of Africa using the Oceanic Rainfall Acquisition (ORA) technology, an effective system which has been developed for decades and tested for over 10 years. The company has been successful in more than 80 percent of cases, delivering oceanic rainfall to combat drought, famine and wildfires in Australia, UAE, Saudi Arabia and USA.

In Qatar, ORA has also proven effective bringing four gigalitres of rain in Ramadan last year, equal to the volume of water supplied in the country for 10 days. And as a follow-up, they again delivered 35 gigalitres of rain in the country.

Unlike cloud seeding and other artificial means of bringing rain, Miles said ORA works on a larger scale. This technology is based on systematic delivery of an electromagnetic waveform that resonates with atmospheric weather patterns, to adjust the path of rain bearing cloud systems. These signals can influence global moisture flow patterns and harness the natural moisture ‘rivers’ in the atmosphere to divert these to targeted destinations to create rainfall.

Miles said they are targeting the next 21 days to bring rain to the affected areas.

“We made a commitment with or without sponsorship we will undertake the project because this is an urgent problem,” said Dr Mahendra Shah, Aquiess Director of International Planning and Communications and an expert on food security, climate change and sustainable agriculture.

In Somalia alone four million people are affected by famine, noted Shah. “Last week, 750,000 people in Somalia are at risk of death for hunger, 66 percent higher when United Nations first declared emergency in the country in July,” he said.

With over 12 million people now affected in Somalia, Kenya, Ethiopia and Uganda, the famine is set to affect even more numbers as any family food stocks are being rapidly depleted and the people’s ability to cope is being eroded by the day.

After two consecutive years of poor rainfall, the coming rainy season in the Horn of Africa in October 2011 may fail for the third year running, with severe consequences of famine yet again. If this occurs, the number of people affected will rise from current estimates of around 15 million to over 20 million.

Rainaid is seen as the key to an early recovery in the area, seriously affected by repeated failed harvests and cycles of drought which have destroyed livestock and crops and left its populations without the means of recovery for years to come.

“There can be no recovery and sustainable agricultural development without water and thus the critical need for gentle rain to break the persistent drought conditions is what Aquiess’s tested technology can address,” said Shah.

Aquiess is also looking at the possibility of getting involved in Qatar’s efforts to achieve food security for its population through its technology, according to Miles.

“With only 10 percent of the price of desalination, we can deliver the same amount of water using our technology,” he said.

THE PENINSULA

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