Last updated on November 3rd, 2023 at 05:09 pm
What is Cloud seeding? It is an artificial way of producing moisture in the clouds to make rain. It is a form of weather alteration. Like a farmer sowing seeds in the field, which later grow into crops, in cloud seeding, the clouds are filled with ‘seeds’ to next fall as rain. The seeds are nothing but silver iodide, potassium iodide, and dry ice.
For rain, the clouds showered with these ice crystals through airplanes or flares. The mist in the clouds compresses around the ice crystals and grows too heavy to stay floating. So, these droplets fall as rain.
Condition Required For Cloud Seeding:
Right atmospheric conditions with plenty of clouds capable of rain are required for seeding. We cannot go and seed the clear skies. Clouds form from the condensation of hidden water vapor on nuclei from dirt, pollen, and salt from ocean splash.
seeding improves the amount of these possible nuclei. Raindrops or ice crystals might not be complete without these added nuclei.
Effective seeding is only possible in the presence of proficient clouds in creating rain.
Pros Of Cloud Seeding:
- It produces rain/mist.
- It also improves water vapor, which, in turn, stops damages gained by destructive hails and storms.
- It saves the dry place from drought.
- It can decrease crop destruction because of precipitation.
Cons Of Cloud Seeding:
- It uses compounds that can harm the ecosystem, especially plants and animals.
- Silver iodine is not currently known to be harmful to our health today, and it might change in the future if more research is done.
- This technique is usually used on clouds that already show early signs of rainfall, so it is not sure if it causes rain.
- Since it modifies the weather, it might change the climatic patterns.
- It is costly.
Exciting Facts About Cloud Seeding:
Vincent J. Schaefer invented cloud seeding.
seeding was used earlier in the Vietnam War. The Department of Defense seeded clouds to extend the monsoon season along the Ho Chi Minh Trail during Operation Popeye (1967–72)— the program aimed to deny using this significant supply route by flooding it.
The most extensive seeding system in the world is China, which produces 55 billion tons of artificial rain per year. nd it intends to quintuple that.
China used cloud seeding in Beijing just before the 2008 Olympics to clear air pollution.
In the US, seeding is used to enhance precipitation in regions undergoing dryness, to reduce the size of hailstones that form in thunders, and to reduce the amount of fog in and around airports.
In India, cloud seeding has been done by the Governments of Tamil Nadu and Karnataka to produce rainfall in areas affected by dryness.
In Pakistan, Cloud seeding is going to happen in the future.
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