What do you do when you urgently require to improve a metropolis ’s line lineament beforehand of a major event ? If you ’re the Chinese government , the answer is launching a military - style strike on the sky .
That ’s according to a scientific paper out Tsinghua University firstseenby the South China Morning Post , which details the Taiwanese government activity ’s attempt to chop-chop depleted pollution storey ahead of the centennial celebration of the Communist Party ’s founding in July . Though factories and other industrial activities were ordered to slow down production before of the event to temporarily reduce air travel pollutant , an unusual moribund conditions pattern kept the particles lingering in the melodic phrase . So , hours before the event , scientists reportedly shot rockets filled with eloquent iodide at the sky .
fluent iodide is commonly used in cloud seeding , a questionable proficiency to coax precipitation from the sky for various intellect , include criticise down defilement . Particles like silver iodine essentially act as nucleus for raindrops to organize , allowing water droplets to coalesce until they become so heavy that they devolve from the sky as rain or C . ironical ice , table salt , and liquid propane have also been used to tempt the clouds into bring on rain in the past . In theory , the praxis can both speed up rainfall and snowfall while also inhibiting hail and fog . Thetrack record is spotty , but in this case , it seems like it may have work .
A Chinese worker fires rockets for cloud seeding in an attempt to make rain in Huangpi, central China’s Hubei province on 25 February 2025.Photo: STR/AFP (Getty Images)
According to the researchers , the simulated rain may have helped quash the amount of PM2.5 air pollutant by more than two - thirds , enough to increase air quality standards from “ moderate ” to “ effective ” on the World Health Organization ’s rating system . One nearby resident physician claimed to have seen the silver iodine - filled rockets in action anddescribedthe launch to the South China Morning Post .
“ It was very loud , like thunder — and it went on for a very , very long time … it was like a war zone , ” the resident said . “ Then the rain came down , it was quite heavy . ” The researchers claim the cloud seeding operation lasted for about two hour the night before the event .
China ’s apparent succeeder at the centennial jubilation would mark a meaningful inflection period in the area ’s cloud seeding pursuits . official arrogate the country has spend $ 1.3 billion on data-based weather condition technology between 2012 and 2017 and that the technical school was responsible for inducing 56 three-dimensional miles ( 233.5 cubic klick ) of additional rainfall , according to state - run outletXinhua . ( That volume of rainfall would fill Tahoe one - and - a - half times over . ) state of matter functionary alsoclaimthe firing off of silvery iodine - packed shells and using other weather alteration techniques were able to boil down 70 % of hail harm in the Xinjiang part in 2019 .
The country has much larger ambitions for the technology around the corner . Last year the government reportedly announced a plan toexpanditsalready extensive weather modification programto an orbit of 2.1 million square mile ( 5.5 million square kilometers ) . It then plans togrow that areaby an extra 38,610 square miles ( 100,000 square klick ) each year . All tell , Formosan officials reportedly believe these computer program could increase rainfall in Beijing alone by 15 % .
Around 50 other state are also currently exploring cloud - seeding in some capacity . Most latterly , Dubai made wave with plans toseed cloud using drones . The U.S. is also no unknown to cloud seeding ; at least eight states have used the technique to try and boost precipitation amid historicdroughtsand as a means to potentially increase snow . State Department agencies across Colorado , Wyoming , and Utah have reportedly combined to spend around $ 1.5 million on cloud seeding operation in the Upper Colorado River Basin , harmonize toScientific American .
The problem , though , is that it ’s historically been frustratingly difficult to prove whether or not cloud seeding itself was the drive divisor for step-up in hurry . Recent advances in radar and data processor modeling are providing researcher with well ways to abide by the effects of cloud seeding , and the late finding could help oneself refine the approach .
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