ASTANA – Kazakhstan has launched Central Asia’s first artificial rainfall enhancement project, marking a major step in the country’s efforts to strengthen climate resilience and protect agricultural production from worsening drought conditions.
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The initiative was officially introduced in Turkistan on May 16 and began full-scale operations the following day. Implemented in partnership with the UAE National Meteorological Center, the project is designed to improve reservoir replenishment and support water supply across more than 911,000 hectares of farmland in southern Kazakhstan.
Officials say the technology could increase precipitation in targeted zones by up to 20%, helping reduce the economic impact of water shortages in one of the country’s most climate-vulnerable agricultural regions.
Speaking at the launch ceremony, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Artificial Intelligence and Digital Development Zhaslan Madiyev described the initiative as the foundation for a new climate infrastructure built on scientific innovation, digital technologies, and international cooperation, the ministry’s press service reported.
Unlike large-scale weather systems, the rainfall enhancement operations are localized, affecting areas within a radius of roughly five kilometers. The project uses salt-based reagents commonly applied in global cloud-seeding programs already operating in countries such as the UAE, China, the United States, and Saudi Arabia.
Alongside the operational rollout, UAE specialists are training Kazakhstan’s meteorologists, pilots, and engineers in weather-modification technologies, with authorities considering expanding the program to other regions of the country.
The initiative was announced during a May 15 meeting in Turkistan between President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev and President of the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and Director General of the UAE National Meteorological Center Abdulla Al-Mandous.
