Dubai is still wondering what hit it

The United Arab Emirates was on Wednesday rinsing itself dry after the most torrential rain ever recorded in the desert nation.

At the same time, its scientists were trying hard to dispel the impression that the chaotic flooding may have been self-inflicted.

The speculation in the western media was largely influenced by flight-tracking data analysed by the Associated Press, which showed one aircraft affiliated with the UAE's cloud-seeding efforts flying around the country on Sunday. In its searing heat conditions, UAE heavily relies on  seeding a technique which sees aircraft fire salt flares into clouds to speed up condensation and induce rainfall.

However, the National Centre of Meteorology scientists told Khaleej Times that during "extreme weather conditions, no cloud-seeding is done".