Kazakhstan is turning to artificial rain as a tool against the intensifying droughts that threaten its agricultural heartlands. The Turkistan region, which endured eight consecutive months without rainfall in 2025, will be the testing ground for Central Asia's first large-scale cloud seeding initiative.
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Digital Development Zhaslan Madiyev described the project as a practical step toward building a new system of climate resilience. Speaking at the launch ceremony, he noted that this is the first time a project of this magnitude, aimed at increasing precipitation, has been attempted in the region.
How Cloud Seeding Works
Cloud seeding relies on introducing particles such as silver iodide or dry ice into clouds that already contain moisture. These particles act as nuclei around which water droplets or ice crystals form, encouraging precipitation that might otherwise remain suspended. The technique, first developed in the 1940s, gained traction in the western United States from the 1960s onward, primarily to boost snowfall.
It cannot conjure rain from a clear sky. The method requires existing storm clouds with sufficient moisture; the seeding simply triggers or enhances rainfall. In Kazakhstan, the Rain Enforcement Project aims to water more than 900,000 hectares in Turkistan, an area increasingly difficult to sustain with conventional irrigation.
Environmental concerns have been addressed through testing to ensure that the salts used do not contaminate soil or water. Experience from other countries suggests that cloud seeding can increase regional precipitation by 10 to 20 percent. Kazakhstan estimates the project could save roughly €65 million annually through improved crop yields.
Global Precedents and UAE Expertise
Dozens of countries in Asia and the Middle East already employ cloud seeding. In the United States, Utah's Division of Water Resources estimated that seeding boosted the state's water supply by 12 percent in 2018. The United Arab Emirates has been using the technique since the 1980s, making it a natural partner for Kazakhstan's new venture.
Experts from the UAE's National Meteorological Centre are now training Kazakh meteorologists, engineers, and pilots. Abdulla Ahmed Al Mandous, the centre's General Director, explained that the training will last two months. He said that if the project achieves a 20 percent increase in precipitation, it will be considered a success.
A pilot flying a specialised aircraft brought to Kazakhstan described the operational process: “We work with the operations on the ground. They see the cloud, they have radars and satellites. But we are their eyes in the sky, we fly into the cloud and give them information about the cloud, the updraft, the temperature, the type of the cloud. Then the experts in the operations decide about the numbers of flares we are going to activate, and we fly and activate those flares.”
This collaboration underscores a broader trend: Central Asian states, acutely vulnerable to climate change, are increasingly seeking technological solutions from partners with proven track records. The region's water scarcity is not merely an environmental issue but a geopolitical one, affecting food security and cross-border relations.
For European readers, Kazakhstan's experiment offers a case study in climate adaptation that resonates with similar challenges in southern Europe, where droughts have become more frequent. The success or failure of cloud seeding in Turkistan could influence debates in Brussels and national capitals about investing in weather modification as part of broader climate resilience strategies. Meanwhile, the involvement of UAE experts highlights the growing role of Middle Eastern states in shaping Central Asia's environmental policies.
