What is artificial rain? Here's how cloud seeding fared in UAE, China, Russia

Artificial rain, also known as cloud seeding, is a method used to enhance precipitation by dispersing substances into the air to encourage the formation of rain or snow. This technique involves seeding clouds with materials such as silver iodide, potassium iodide, or dry ice, which serve as nuclei for water droplets to form around. As these particles attract moisture, they can lead to the growth of larger droplets and potentially stimulate precipitation within clouds that might not otherwise produce rain or snow. While it's been experimented with for decades, its effectiveness can vary depending on atmospheric conditions and other factors.

Artificial Rain in the United Arab Emirates

Cloud seeding is a strategic approach employed a few times by the United Arab Emirates government to tackle water scarcity challenges within the country. Also known as man-made precipitation or artificial rainmaking, this technique marks the UAE as one of the pioneering nations in the Persian Gulf region to adopt cloud seeding technology. Amidst the country's water insecurity arising from its intensely hot climate, UAE scientists harness cloud seeding to bolster water resources. Utilising weather radar, they maintain constant surveillance of the nation's atmosphere. Projections from forecasters and scientists suggest that cloud seeding initiatives could amplify rainfall by around 30-35% in drier atmospheric conditions and up to 10-15% in more humid environments.

Artificial Rain in China

One of the most famous examples of artificial rain was during the 2008 Olympics when China to prevent rain over Beijing's open-air 91,000-seat Olympic stadium, known as the Bird’s Nest, the city’s division of the National Weather Modification Office—part of the larger China Meteorological Administration.

Initially, Beijing’s Weather Modification Office monitored the area's weather using satellites, aircraft, radar, and an IBM p575 supercomputer, capable of performing 9.8 trillion floating point operations per second. This supercomputer accurately models a 44,000 square kilometre (17,000 square miles) area, enabling hourly forecasts for every kilometre.

Subsequently, employing two aircraft and a network of twenty artillery and rocket-launch sites around Beijing, the city's weather engineers will deploy silver iodide and dry ice into approaching clouds that are still sufficiently distant, allowing their rain to be dispersed before reaching the stadium.

Finally, if rain-heavy clouds come close to the Bird’s Nest, they will be treated with chemicals to reduce droplet size, preventing rainfall until these clouds have passed over.

Back in 1958, the Chinese initiated experimental weather manipulation to tackle the arid conditions in their northern region. The area faced recurring threats of drought and famine due to sudden windstorms from the Gobi desert.

Presently, the People’s Republic allocates millions of dollars yearly to its national Weather Modification Office. According to the state-run news agency Xinhua, between 1999 and 2007, this office claimed to have safeguarded 470,000 square kilometres from hail and generated over 250 billion tons of rain—enough to fill China’s second-largest river, the Yellow River, four times over.

Additionally, similar efforts have positively influenced weather conditions at national events like the World Expo in Yunnan, the Asian Games in Shanghai, and the Giant Panda Festival in Sichuan.

Artificial Rain in Russia

The Russian government invested more than a million dollars to prevent rain on a public holiday.

As reported by the official news agency TASS, the Kremlin allocated approximately 86 million rubles ($1.3 million) to ensure dry weather during the 1st of May celebrations.

Did the experiment yield results? Reports, including The Siberian Times, suggest there was light rain on the day. Did the cloud seeding successfully diminish the rain's impact, or did it fail since the rain occurred? Did it have any discernible effect at all? That's the challenge - it's nearly impossible to ascertain.

Artificial Rain in India

A study published in the Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society (BAMS) revealed that the cloud seeding trial in Maharashtra's Solapur region led to an 18% increase in rainfall compared to the usual patterns. According to a report in TOI, scientists from the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology in Pune and other institutes conducted this study.

The experiment focused on hygroscopic cloud seeding, specifically targeting warm convective clouds with a height above zero degrees Celsius. Calcium chloride particles were released into these convective clouds to stimulate rainfall.

Spanning from 2017 to 2019, the experiment analysed 276 clouds using advanced tools like automatic rain gauges, radars, radiometers, and aircraft. Scientists also attempted glaciogenic seeding in clouds containing both ice and water. However, the study concluded that glaciogenic seeding did not significantly impact rainfall at the seeding location.

Meanwhile, Delhi's Environment Minister, Gopal Rai, stated this week that Delhi’s pollution status will undergo monitoring over the next two to three days before considering artificial rain. Three days post-Diwali, Delhi's air quality registered as 'very poor' on Thursday morning. Rai mentioned that there might be an increase in wind speed after a few more days, offering hope for betterment. Currently overseeing the scenario, the authorities plan to convene with scientists and relevant departments for deliberation tomorrow. Rai highlighted that if the Air Quality Index (AQI) escalates to the 'severe plus' category, stricter measures such as odd-even restrictions will be contemplated by the government.

Results from these experiments have varied worldwide. In some cases, there have been reported increases in rainfall, while in others, the effects have been inconclusive or debatable due to the difficulty in measuring the precise impact of cloud seeding amidst natural weather variability.

Also Read Govt planning artificial rain over Delhi NCR; here’s how it could help solve air pollution issue