Amman – Jordan’s cloud-seeding project, covered by a recently signed agreement between the Jordan Valley Authority and US-based Rainmaker Technology Corporation, is opening new prospects for strengthening the Kingdom’s water resources through modern technology designed to increase rainfall in northern areas, particularly those feeding the northern dams. The project primarily targets the Wihdeh Dam basin, with the aim of increasing the volume of rainwater flowing into reservoirs and adding to the country’s water reserves.
According to Jordan Valley Authority Secretary-General Hisham Al-Haisa, the project will target the Wihdeh Dam area and parts of northern Jordan, using advanced international technology to enhance rainfall in the dam’s catchment area. The initiative relies on modern cloud-seeding and weather-monitoring techniques, while also creating opportunities to develop scientific tools for measuring the impact of these operations on water resources.
The project’s importance extends beyond conducting cloud-seeding operations. It also aims to establish a precise scientific system for measuring results and determining the actual increase in rainfall. Al-Haisa explained that the assessment process will rely on historical rainfall records covering 100 years, in addition to installing monitoring stations linked to a control centre. These stations will measure rainfall, compare the data and determine any increases, making it possible to calculate the project’s actual impact. No specific rainfall-increase target has been set in advance.
Water-sector experts, speaking separately to Al Ghad, said cloud seeding could serve as a supporting tool for water security by enhancing rainfall, replenishing water reserves, supporting vegetation cover and transferring modern knowledge and technology. Its effectiveness, however, depends on cloud characteristics and suitable weather conditions, while monitoring and analytical technologies can help identify opportunities for cloud seeding and track its results in the field.
Specialists note that the project’s contribution to water security will be determined by the actual increase in rainfall and the additional water that can be stored and used, as well as its economic cost. They stressed that cloud seeding should form part of an integrated national strategy that includes water desalination, reducing network losses, reusing treated wastewater and rainwater harvesting.
According to the Ministry of Water and Irrigation and the Jordan Valley Authority, the project aims to increase water flows into northern dams and build national technical and scientific expertise through monitoring and analysing weather conditions and cloud formations. This is intended to improve the application of cloud-seeding technologies under Jordan’s specific climatic conditions.
The partnership also provides opportunities to train and employ Jordanian personnel and develop local technical capabilities in cloud-seeding technologies, supporting knowledge transfer and expanding research and practical applications.
Increasing Rainfall
Jordanian water diplomacy expert Maysoun Al-Zoubi highlighted the project’s importance as part of efforts to find innovative solutions to strengthen water resources. She said cloud seeding could serve as a supporting tool for water management, while evaluating its results would help determine its contribution to increasing rainfall and expanding the water resources available for use and storage in dams.
Al-Zoubi said the project’s results should be measured through scientific assessments that establish the amount of additional rainfall and the volume of extra water that can be stored, alongside the economic cost of each cubic metre produced through cloud-seeding operations.
She added that the project requires an independent scientific evaluation to determine the actual increase in rainfall, the additional volume of water that can be stored and the economic cost per cubic metre generated by the operations.
She also stressed the importance of drawing on international experiences, particularly the accumulated expertise of countries such as the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia. Such experience could help develop technical knowledge and assess the technologies used in light of local climatic conditions.
Al-Zoubi noted that Jordan’s interest in cloud seeding dates back several years, including an initiative linked to the Thai experience that she directly supervised. She emphasised the importance of documenting previous experiments and using the knowledge gained to improve current projects.
She further highlighted the need to integrate cloud seeding into a comprehensive water-security framework that includes desalination, reducing water losses across distribution networks, reusing treated wastewater and protecting groundwater. Such an approach would diversify water sources and support the long-term management of available resources.
Addressing Water Scarcity
Former Secretary-General of the Ministry of Water and Irrigation Eyad Al-Dahiyat said the cloud-seeding project represents an opportunity to strengthen Jordan’s efforts to address water scarcity, diversify its water sources, adopt modern technologies and develop national capabilities in weather modification.
Al-Dahiyat said the project could make it possible to use cloud-seeding technologies to increase rainfall, potentially benefiting water reserves, green spaces and pastures, while also developing technical and research expertise.
“The success of this experiment would lead to increased rainfall, larger water reserves and expanded green areas, including pastures,” he said, stressing the importance of training, capacity-building, scientific research and climate-related technological applications.
Explaining the scientific basis of cloud seeding, Al-Dahiyat said the process involves introducing particles into clouds to encourage moisture condensation and the growth of water droplets or ice crystals, depending on the clouds’ physical characteristics and prevailing weather conditions. Understanding these characteristics helps identify suitable clouds for seeding and improve monitoring and follow-up methods.
He added that cloud-seeding technologies are linked to environmental and climate applications, including supporting vegetation cover, contributing to groundwater recharge, improving environmental conditions in arid areas, developing international partnerships and translating scientific research into practical applications.
Al-Dahiyat emphasised the importance of using cloud-seeding materials within environmental monitoring programmes. These should include monitoring water and soil quality, documenting the materials used, recording their quantities and identifying where they are released. Such measures would provide scientific data for evaluating the project’s environmental impact.
He explained that assessing the impact of cloud seeding requires scientific methods, including comparing rainfall in targeted areas with that in similar locations, analysing data before and after seeding operations, and using historical climate records, weather models and cloud characteristics.
He also stressed the importance of linking rainfall data with measurements of water flows in valleys, the quantities reaching dams and groundwater sources. This would help determine the impact of cloud-seeding operations on available water resources and distinguish between recorded rainfall and the volume of water that can actually be utilised.
From an economic perspective, Al-Dahiyat said the assessment must account for technology, operational, monitoring and maintenance costs and compare them with the additional quantities of water that can be stored or used. This would make it possible to calculate the cost per cubic metre generated through cloud seeding.
He stressed that documenting results and making data available for evaluation are essential to developing the experiment, using its findings in water-resource management, strengthening national expertise and expanding research and technical cooperation.
Weather Modification
Professor Mona Hindieh of the German Jordanian University said the project offers Jordan an opportunity to test modern technologies for enhancing water resources, particularly in northern dam catchment areas, while developing national expertise in weather modification.
She explained that the project targets increased rainfall in northern Jordan, particularly in the catchment areas of the Wihdeh and Kufranjah dams, while also seeking to build technical and scientific capacity.
Hindieh said cloud seeding involves intervening in physical processes within existing clouds by introducing particles that help ice crystals grow or water droplets merge, depending on cloud type and thermal characteristics.
The effectiveness of these operations is linked to cloud properties, moisture content, temperatures and air-current movements. These factors help determine the conditions suitable for cloud seeding.
She noted that the use of radar, drones and weather-monitoring instruments provides data on cloud characteristics and movement patterns, helping monitor and document cloud-seeding operations. These technologies also allow information to be collected and used to analyse rainfall and assess the results in targeted areas.
Regarding international experience, Hindieh said previous studies provide data that can help develop local projects, while taking into account climatic differences between regions. She pointed out that estimates of rainfall increases in studies reviewed by the US Government Accountability Office ranged from zero to 20%, highlighting the importance of evaluating results in light of local conditions and field data.
Hindieh stressed that assessing the project’s impact on water resources requires linking rainfall quantities to the amount of water that actually reaches dams. Rainwater is distributed among surface runoff, infiltration into the soil and evaporation. Analysing these processes, measuring valley flows and assessing dam water balances can help determine how much water can be harvested, stored and utilised.
She also highlighted the importance of comparing rainfall in areas undergoing cloud seeding with that in similar areas, analysing weather and rainfall data before and after operations, and using historical climate records and cloud-property measurements.
Documenting the timing of seeding operations and the accompanying weather conditions would also provide a database to support scientific evaluation of the project’s impact.
Economically, Hindieh said assessing the project’s feasibility requires calculating technology, operational, maintenance and monitoring costs and comparing them with the volume of additional usable water. This would establish the cost per cubic metre and allow the project to be compared with other options for strengthening water resources, including rainwater harvesting, treated wastewater reuse, desalination and reducing network losses.
Hindieh also emphasised the importance of incorporating environmental monitoring into the project. This should include documenting the materials used in cloud seeding and their quantities, as well as monitoring water and soil quality indicators according to the nature of the materials involved.
Monitoring the project throughout the rainy seasons would help build a database covering suitable weather conditions, cloud-seeding results, the volume of water actually utilised and the associated economic costs.
She concluded that linking climate, hydrological and economic data is fundamental to evaluating the project’s contribution to strengthening Jordan’s water security and diversifying its water resources.
The Jordan Valley Authority and US-based Rainmaker Technology Corporation recently signed a strategic cooperation agreement to enhance cloud seeding and increase rainfall in targeted areas of northern Jordan, particularly the catchment areas of the Wihdeh and Kufranjah dams. The agreement aims to support water resources, improve flows into dams, transfer technology and develop national technical capabilities.
Water and Irrigation Minister Raed Abu Al-Saud, who sponsored the signing ceremony at the ministry’s headquarters, said at the time that the agreement forms part of efforts to strengthen water security and secure Jordan’s water future. He said achieving this requires “innovative solutions based on technological progress and scientific development.”
He added that the project aims to increase the water resources available for drinking and other essential uses, while improving the storage capacity of dams.
Source: Al Ghad
