Ceremony Launches Artificial Precipitation Enhancement Project

On 16 May 2026, a ceremonial launch of an artificial precipitation enhancement project took place in the city of Turkestan. Kazakhstan has become the first country in the region to move to the practical application of artificial rainfall technologies.

The project is aimed at raising reservoir water levels and supplying agricultural areas in the south of the country with water resources. Full-scale implementation begins on 17 May 2026.

The technology is designed to mitigate the effects of drought and water scarcity across agricultural lands in the Turkestan Region, covering more than 911,000 hectares of arable land. The project is being implemented in international cooperation with the National Centre of Meteorology of the UAE, which has extensive experience in weather modification and artificial precipitation technologies dating back to the late 1980s.

The ceremony was attended by Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Artificial Intelligence and Digital Development of Kazakhstan Zhaslan Madiyev, the President of the World Meteorological Organization of the UN, Director General of the UAE National Centre of Meteorology Abdullah Ahmed Al-Mandous, UAE Ambassador to Kazakhstan Muhammad Said Muhammad Al-Ariki, and Akim of the Turkestan Region Nuralkhan Kusherov.

"Kazakhstan is taking a practical step towards building a new system of climate resilience. For the first time in the region, a project of this scale in the field of artificial precipitation enhancement technologies is being launched. For us, this marks the beginning of the formation of a modern climate infrastructure grounded in science, international partnership, and digital technologies. The project is being implemented in collaboration with leading global experts and lays the foundation for technology transfer and the training of Kazakhstani specialists," said Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Artificial Intelligence and Digital Development Zhaslan Madiyev.

According to international assessments, artificial rainfall technologies are capable of increasing precipitation by 10–20% compared to natural background levels. Such technologies are widely used in China, the United States, the UAE, France, and Saudi Arabia.

The project is being implemented locally in areas with the greatest water demand, primarily on agricultural lands. The selection of operational zones is carried out jointly with meteorological service specialists and relevant government agencies, taking into account weather conditions, the environmental situation, and water supply needs. The technology has a localised impact radius of no more than 5 kilometres and is not associated with the formation of large-scale weather phenomena. Salt-based reagents widely used in international precipitation enhancement practice are employed in the process.

The implementation of the project is expected to improve the efficiency of water supply to agricultural areas, reduce drought-related losses, and support crop yield growth. The potential annual economic benefit is estimated at up to 35 billion tenge.

As part of the cooperation, specialists from the UAE National Centre of Meteorology are training Turkestan Region professionals in weather modification technologies, including meteorologists, pilots, engineers, and subject-matter experts. The possibility of scaling the technology to other regions of Kazakhstan is also being explored, laying the groundwork for the development of the country's own climate technologies.

The project involves the Ministry of Artificial Intelligence and Digital Development, the Ministry of Water Resources and Irrigation, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Culture and Information, the Ministry of Defence, the Ministry of Agriculture, the Ministry of Transport, the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources, the Ministry of Energy, the Ministry of Emergency Situations, the Akimat of the Turkestan Region, the Civil Aviation Committee, Kazaeronavigatsiya, and Kazhydromet.