Rain seeding technology.. Morocco relaunches ‘Al-Ghaith’ initiative to pollinate the sky
Heba Press – Yassin Al-Damiri
In 1984, the late Moroccan monarch, King Hassan II, launched an initiative called “Al-Ghaith” specifically for artificial rain seeding, in an attempt to counter the effects of successive years of severe drought in the country.
The trial period of this process, launched in partnership with experts from the American Development Agency, continued for more than five years to ensure its effectiveness and knowledge of the different aspects related to it.
Operation Ghaith focuses on specific areas of the Kingdom, particularly those with water dams, and is carried out either by relying on ground-based generators that release chemicals to pollinate clouds, or by using Royal Gendarmerie helicopters equipped with special technology.
This program was adopted by Morocco nearly three decades ago, whenever the specter of drought appeared, and the experiment was relaunched three years ago, when Nizar Baraka, Minister of Equipment and Water, confirmed during his previous intervention last November in the heart of Morocco’s Parliament that his ministry had expanded between… year.
This technique allows to increase the level of precipitation between 14 and 17 percent, and it is generally used in Morocco between the months of November and April, at a rate of 22 operations, resorting to the pollination of the clouds of the sky with sodium chloride salt and silver iodide by a purely technical process.
In this regard, Al-Hussein Youabed, head of communication at the General Directorate of Meteorology, confirmed in statements previously published in Heba Press that the “Al-Ghaith” initiative of artificial rain is part of the urgent solutions that Morocco resorts to whenever rain is delayed or delayed.
Yoabed explained in advance that the success of the rain seeding process requires the availability of natural factors and auxiliary conditions, such as the presence of suitable air currents to stimulate clouds and a high level of humidity with low levels of air masses in the upper atmosphere.
The same spokesman stressed that rain seeding is a process that requires a lot of precautions and meticulous work, as it is preceded by the collection of samples in the targeted areas, so that the rain seeding specialists of the Meteorological Directorate begin to analyze the cloud data and determine the success rate before the process begins.
He added that artificial rain seeding operations in Morocco target mountainous areas adjacent to dams to improve their properties through the fall of snowflakes, which also help improve the water bed.
Environmental experts from different countries had previously confirmed, at the climate summit “COP22” organized by our country, that the technology of seeding by artificial rain is an environmentally friendly technology, since its use does not cause any negative effects, either on the water bed or on agricultural products.
It is worth noting that Morocco, thanks to the experiences and expertise it has accumulated through the “Al Ghaith” initiative, has become a pioneer in the field of artificial rainfed seeding on the African continent, which has enabled it to provide support in this context to African countries, including Mali, Burkina Faso and Senegal, it has requested Morocco’s assistance in undertaking the same initiative in order to put an end to the specter of thirst that threatens its population and improve the productivity of millions of agricultural hectares.
