The National Center of Meteorology (NCM), through the UAE Research Program for Rain Enhancement Science (UAEREP), is set to organize the seventh edition of the International Rain Enhancement Forum (IREF). IREF is a global platform at the forefront of rain enhancement research that convenes leading international and national experts, researchers, scientists and stakeholders to discuss the latest scientific and technological advances in the field.
As the first event of its kind that tackles critical water and sustainability issues worldwide, IREF provides the scientific community with a platform to discuss the latest innovative solutions to water security issues through the advancement of scientific understanding and knowledge sharing in rain enhancement. IREF is structured around five key strategic pillars: Collaboration, Innovation, Capacity Building, Artificial Intelligence and Applied Research.
The event also provides university students and early-career scientists with an opportunity to present their innovative research projects to a group of world-renowned scientists in the fields of weather modification and rain enhancement.
In addition to discussing the latest progress on UAEREP’s awardee projects, the 7th edition of IREF will examine water security challenges in the global climate agenda and opportunities to deploy the rainfall enhancement models and technologies.
In addition, the forum will host regional and international experts in both research and operational programs to present the key takeaways and accomplishments of their programs to optimize rain enhancement applications and evaluations.
IREF convenes leading international and national experts, researchers, scientists and stakeholders to tackle critical water and sustainability issues worldwide.
In the context of the UAE Water Security Strategy 2036 and the UAE Science Strategy, IREF helps position the country as a global rain enhancement hub and promote its key role in transferring knowledge. As a regular event, the Forum is structured to aid productive discussion between Program awardees and the many leading scientists in attendance on the broadest possible range of topics related to rain enhancement science.
Promoting collaborative research on rain enhancement science and technology around the world, the Forum will offer an overview of the UAE Research Program for Rain Enhancement Science’s role in global capacity-building while highlighting its collaborative work with international universities and research institutes.
Opening with an exclusive fireside chat commemorating the 10th anniversary of UAEREP, the seventh IREF will feature a comprehensive range of sessions covering regional and global perspectives on water security, AI and weather modification, AI and physics-based models and data science for climate and weather research, unmanned aerial systems (UAS) technologies, new glaciogenic and hygroscopic cloud seeding materials, limited-area climate interventions, and non-conventional and innovative research applications in rain enhancement.
IREF 2025 gathers local and international experts across government, academia and industry to discuss further cooperation on finding innovative solutions that can augment freshwater resources across the globe. It also attracts students and researchers of all career stages who are interested in weather modification technologies to learn more innovative solutions to water scarcity.
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IREF sessions will showcase the progress and achievements of the UAE Research Program for Rain Enhancement Science’s awarded projects, led by distinguished multinational awardees drawn from prominent research institutions from across the globe. A special highlight of this exciting event will be the launch of the Program’s much anticipated Sixth Cycle. Details on the submission process for the new Cycle and its targeted research areas will also be showcased.
High-level plenary sessions will bring together international leaders to discuss water security in a changing climate and the transformative potential of artificial intelligence (AI) in the realm of climate and weather forecasting and related climate intervention activities.
Technical sessions will cover the synergies between AI and physics-based models and data science for climate and weather research, how advances in unmanned aerial systems (UAS) technologies can contribute to rainfall enhancement efforts, the exploration of new cloud seeding materials – both glaciogenic and hygroscopic agents – in cloud seeding operations, limited-area climate interventions and their implications for rainfall enhancement, and non-conventional and innovative research applications for enhanced rain-bearing cloud formation and/or rainfall enhancement.
The Forum will also feature a special session in which students and early-career scientists participating in UAEREP projects and/or conducting research relevant to rainfall enhancement can exhibit their work through poster presentations.
Hosted by the UAE Research Program for Rain Enhancement Science and under the supervision of the UAE’s National Center of Meteorology (NCM)
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