China boosts Xinjiang rainfall using 1 kg silver iodide and cloud drones

Chinese scientists used cloud seeding drones and just 1 kg of silver iodide to add over 70000 cubic metres of rainfall in Xinjiang enough to fill 30 Olympic-sized swimming pools

China boosts Xinjiang rainfall using 1 kg silver iodide and cloud drones

 

Boris Pradhan

New Delhi

 

Chinese scientists have successfully boosted rainfall by over 4 per cent in Xinjiang using a fleet of cloud seeding drones, The South China Morning Post reported on Monday.

 

The researchers have published the findings from a weather modification experiment in Xinjiang, a dry region in western China, in a peer-reviewed paper. Using a fleet of cloud seeding drones, the operation boosted rainfall by more than 4 per cent across an area exceeding 8,000 sq km in a single day, according to the team led by Li Bin, a senior engineer at the China Meteorological Administration (CMA).

 

The effort produced over 70,000 cubic metres of extra rainfall — enough to fill 30 Olympic-sized swimming pools at 2 metres deep — by deploying just 1 kg of silver iodide, a common cloud-seeding substance. This amount of powder, which is six times denser than water, is small enough to fit in a travel mug.

 

The CMA’s key laboratory for cloud-precipitation physics and weather modification in Beijing conducted the test, described in a peer-reviewed paper published in the Chinese-language journal Desert and Oasis Meteorology on 10 April.

 

What is cloud seeding?

 

Cloud seeding is a method of weather modification aimed at increasing rainfall by dispersing substances into the atmosphere that encourage cloud saturation.

 

The process begins with identifying suitable clouds using weather data and tools like aircraft or ground-based systems. Once identified, substances known as seeding agents are released into these clouds. These agents help form larger water droplets by acting as nuclei, eventually resulting in enhanced precipitation.

 

Common seeding materials include salts like silver iodide, potassium iodide, sodium chloride and dry ice (solid carbon dioxide). These compounds serve as the "seeds" around which moisture in the cloud condenses, promoting the development of raindrops.

 

Cloud seeding not feasible in Delhi: CPCB

 

Last year, the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) stated that the feasibility of cloud seeding as an emergency measure to fight Delhi's severe air pollution crisis would be limited. The CPCB has stated that cloud seeding faces significant challenges due to insufficient moisture in the air and the dependency on pre-existing clouds influenced by Western Disturbances. Delhi Environment Minister Gopal Rai had floated the idea several times to his Union counterpart Bhupender Yadav. The CPCB shared its observations on a cloud seeding proposal by IIT Kanpur. The information was shared in response to a Right to Information query filed by activist Amit Gupta.