The Emirates hope to jolt clouds into sharing their bounty

summer months, life in Dubai can feel like a denial of nature. The malls, the hotels, even the swimming pools are frosty. But the air outside is baking, with temperatures above 40°C and humidity so thick it fogs glasses and seeps from air-conditioning vents.The United Arab Emirates (), a seven-member federation of which Dubai is part, wants to put some of that humidity to use. The country has one of the world’s keenest cloud-seeding programmes, flying some 200 missions a year from an airfield in Abu Dhabi, the capital. Every week or two, planes zip into the clouds to try to squeeze out a shower. Lately they have been joined by experimental drones: if nature will not share rain of its own accord, the hopes to jolt it into compliance.