Cloud Seeding Cloud seeding, often called weather modification, is a scientific process intended to enhance rain and snow, reduce hail damage, and alleviate fog.
Can We ‘seed’ clouds to control rain?
Cloud seeding can be used for multiple purposes. The one commonly thought of in Nevada is prompting precipitation but it can also be used to remove clouds or fog, for example on an airport runway when the fog is too dense for pilots to see. Cloud seeding works by putting small particles, called condensation nuclei, into an already existing cloud.
Can cloud seeding reduce rainfall?
Cloud seeding can also be used to reduce rainfall in areas where it is not desired. Perhaps most famously, it grabbed headlines in 2008, when China used the technology to cause rain before the Olympics, ensuring clear skies during the actual games.
Does cloud seeding really help bring rains?
“The research shows that cloud seeding can enhance certain types of rainfall up to 10 percent when it is already going to rain, ” said Accu. Weather Founder and CEO Dr. Joel N. Myers. “If there are no clouds, you are not going to get any rain.
Just like geoengineering, weather modification in form of cloud seeding as an instrument of modernistic technology is very real, as are the somewhat climatic (or to some degree even materialistic) threats posed by its ineffectual handling.
Experts who have studied cloud seeding point out that it is no panacea, given it doesn’t solve the systemic causes of drought and can be tricky to implement – only certain clouds in certain weather conditions can be seeded with nascent rain and there’s no guarantee it will break a drought even if successful.
What is cloud seeding and why does it produce rain?
Cloud seeding is a weather modification technique that improves a cloud’s ability to produce rain or snow by artificially adding condensation nuclei to the atmosphere, providing a base for for snowflakes or raindrops to form. After cloud seeding takes place, precipitation falls from the clouds back to the surface of the Earth.
This effort apparently brought 10 to 25 percent more rain. Similarly, United Arab Emirates, considered a leader in rain enhancement, claims to have witnessed an increase in rainfall of about 10–35 percent following cloud seeding. Currently, more than 50 countries are reportedly undertaking cloud seeding efforts world-wide.
Does cloud seeding work?
There is evidence that cloud seeding works . It can create a 10-15% increase in rainfall. But some argue that this benefit doesn’t outweigh the risks to public safety and the environment.
Then, is cloud seeding bad for plants and animals?
Since cloud seeding’s process requires the placement of chemicals into the air, it would obviously have undesirable concerns for plants and animals below. How the chemicals are used in this technology will affect the organisms that will be hit by its artificial rainfall, which is exactly considered its most direct concern.
The full impact of cloud seeding is still not fully known, but it is helpful to what its pros and cons are so far. List of Pros of Cloud Seeding. It creates rain. One big benefit of cloud seeding is being able to create rain in regions that are most affected by droughts, lessening the impact of the harsh climate.
History of cloud seedingAsia. The largest cloud seeding system is in the People’s Republic of China. The Aerospace Force of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps has used unmanned aerial vehicles to seed clouds in 10 Iranian provinces. United arab emirates, north america, australia, israel, kuwait, africa, or southeast asia are a couple additional items to take a look at.
What are the benefits of cloud seeding?
It creates rain. One big benefit of cloud seeding is being able to create rain in regions that are most affected by droughts, lessening the impact of the harsh climate. By using the technique, farms can yield more crops due to the fact that farmers will be able to grow plants in areas that might not have supported them in the past.