56 Cloud Seeding Facts For Kids To Understand The Process

If you thought that cloud seeding was a way of growing clouds using "cloud seeds", then you're almost right!

Cloud seeding is, in fact, a way to increase precipitation in an area with little rainfall or induce rain in an area with no potential rainfall by creating artificial clouds through cloud droplets and ice particles. Instead of leaving rainfall to natural processes, cloud seeding help induce rain when required or even dispels it if needed.

Cloud seeding has many uses: It can be used to replenish water resources in any region, whether it is snowy mountains or an arid desert, help reduce air pollution, or even disrupt severe storms and other phenomena. However, playing around with natural weather can also have consequences.

Interested in learning more about the scientific benefits and cons of cloud seeding? Here are some interesting cloud-seeding facts for you!

What is cloud seeding?

Cloud seeding, also known as rainmaking or man-made precipitation enhancement, is a technique for creating rain or snow by artificially dispersing tiny particles into clouds. It basically encourages clouds to produce rain.

• Tiny droplets of water or ice group up together to make clouds.
• These groups of droplets or ice develop as a result of the cooling and subsequent condensation of atmospheric water vapor around a dust or salt particle.
• These ice or dust particles, also referred to as condensation nuclei, aid in the development of precipitation like rain or snow.
• Without the condensation nuclei, there can be no rain; hence precipitation cannot happen in their absence.
• By intentionally introducing condensation nuclei into the environment, cloud seeding significantly increases a cloud's capacity to generate rain or snow. Cloud seeding offers a foundation for the formation of snowflakes or raindrops with additional condensation nuclei.
• As a result, precipitation will fall from the clouds in the form of rain or snow following a successful cloud-seeding process.
• Cloud seeding is done with the intention of increasing rain or snowfall, suppressing hail, lowering lightning risk, or even eradicating fog to improve visibility.
• It is a useful tool, particularly in dry and arid regions of the world where rainfall is typically insufficient, like deserts and other hot areas.
• Several nations, including India, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom, China, and the United States, have used cloud seeding. China has heavily relied on this technology to bring relief to populations in its arid regions.
• The UAE has employed the technique since the '90s, and in 2015, the country invested about $5 million in its research program for rain enhancement science.
• The US has employed the technique since the late '40s, particularly in the Rocky Mountains, Sierra Nevada, and other hilly and arid regions.
• The technique was even utilized to halt rain during the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing. It was also used using during Prince William and Catherine Middleton's wedding in 2011 to ensure that the events went smoothly without any hitches due to unwanted rain.

The History Of Cloud Seeding

Here are some historical facts related to cloud seeding. Continue reading to learn more about the history of cloud seeding.

• The first successful test of the concept of cloud seeding was conducted in 1946 by an American meteorologist and chemist named Vincent Schaefer.
• Schaefer was working at General Electric Company at that time and was able to produce snowfall and rainfall in a controlled lab setting.
• He went on to assist the United States government as an advisor for Project Cirrus, a project focused on weather modification techniques.
• The US government went on to test the effects of cloud seeding on hurricanes in Project Stormfury to determine whether it would help weaken them. However, it was later proven that cloud seeding had no effect on them due to the absence of supercooled clouds, which would have caused the water inside them to freeze and dissipate the hurricanes.
• Though Project Stormfury seemed to be a failure and was subsequently canceled, it still helped scientists and meteorologists study hurricanes in-depth and understand them better. It helped them collect data that would later become useful for future hurricane forecasting.

What is the purpose of cloud seeding?

Cloud seeding is essentially a way of manipulating the weather to fulfill certain needs or conditions of the area. It has many purposes, as mentioned below.

• Cloud seeding was initially developed as a way to increase rainfall in drought-stricken areas. In recent times, the purpose of seeding clouds has expanded to increasing snowfall in mountainous regions to supplement natural water sources, jump-start the rainy season in case of delay, and even prevent rainfall if required.
• Cloud seeding can also be used to reduce air pollution in certain regions. Chemicals are introduced into the Earth's atmosphere to create artificial clouds, which create rainfall. This rainfall mixes with the harmful pollutants present in the atmosphere, purifying the air and leaving it cleaner than before.
• Cloud seeding to reduce pollution must be done carefully, or it may bring an excessive amount of pollutants down to Earth, contaminating the soil and other water bodies in the process.

The Process Of Cloud Seeding

Cloud seeding basically employs the use of artificial methods to stimulate rainfall. There are a few ways in which this can be achieved:

Static Cloud Seeding

The first of the three approaches, static cloud seeding, is effective when a chemical substance is introduced to the clouds.

• It is the most popular technique and involves misting silver iodide or chloride salt crystals onto clouds. Silver iodide (AgI) is a naturally occurring substance in the environment that has no negative effects on people or wildlife.
• A specialized airplane, rocket, or other dispersal tool is utilized to do this.
• The salt atoms serve as condensation nuclei, attracting water vapor toward them.
• They then condense into water droplets. Once the water droplets combine to become heavy raindrops, there is a rain shower.

Dynamic Cloud Seeding

This method of seeding encourages more water to travel through the clouds by accelerating vertical air currents.

• Compared to the static cloud seeding approach, dynamic cloud seeding requires around 100 times more ice crystals to function.
• Due to its reliance on a series of events playing out as intended, it is a more complicated method.
• The dynamic cloud seeding approach is quite complex, and it has been divided into eleven distinct steps by researchers from atmospheric science departments.
• The entire process can go off the rails if even one of the phases is unsuccessful or yields an unanticipated result.

Hygroscopic Cloud Seeding

The hygroscopic cloud seeding technique uses explosions or flares to scatter chloride or silver iodide salts over a cloud's lowest layers.

• The salt particles combine with water droplets which then grow in size by attracting moisture.
• It is a fairly recently developed technique that requires more research before it can be employed for widespread use.
• However, tests done so far have yielded satisfactory results.

What are the disadvantages of cloud seeding?

• Though cloud seeding definitely has its positive effects, it is perfect only under lab conditions. When this weather modification technique is practiced in the real world, it can yield some unwanted effects due to the presence of other components in the environment. There are several examples of cloud seeding experiments gone wrong.
• Despite claims to the contrary, the method has raised questions about its actual efficiency in producing rain. The main query is whether the rain would have fallen in a certain area even if seeding had not been carried out.
• It is challenging to determine whether variations in rainfall that occur during cloud seeding times are caused by seeding or might have happened naturally if left alone. This can cause problems in weather prediction patterns.
• Cloud seeding is no doubt a very creative approach to producing rain, especially in desert regions; however, it is an extremely costly procedure. The high costs of cloud seeding operations can undo all the positive effects it brings about, especially if it would have rained naturally anyway.
• For instance, China spends $60–90 million yearly on weather modification projects, with the UAE allocating roughly $5 million in 2015 to its Rain Enhancement Science Research Program.
• Given that it will unavoidably rain due to the Earth's natural water cycle, it can be argued that these funds may be used to support other initiatives.
• Additionally, many people argue that the funds could be dedicated to combatting climate change instead of fixing the issues caused by these events.
• Many people also think that there is a more effective, environment-friendly, and long-term situation for the problem of perpetual dryness instead of short-term initiatives like cloud seeding.
• Cloud seeding is said to be a tactic used to hide the consequences of pollution and climate change.
• Cloud seeding doesn't change the reality that climate change is happening, and the procedure doesn't address the root causes of the issue, which are gradual increases in Earth's temperature due to pollution and misuse of natural resources.
• Simply said, it is not a potential solution for climate change but can only be used to bring about temporary relief.
• The process of cloud seeding is very expensive and cannot be relied upon to naturally decrease the temperature of a region in the long run.
• The possible harmful effects of silver iodide must also be considered. Despite silver iodide being regarded as environmentally safe, there are still concerns regarding excessive exposure to it, particularly in light of soil and water contamination.
• Though it may not cause any problems in the atmosphere, it may adversely affect the soil that we use to grow foodgrains in, leading to crop failure or contaminated produce. This, in turn, can create health risks in the long run.
• The consumption of these crops can have adverse effects, as silver iodide has been shown to harm humans and other animals if consumed in large amounts. It may leave create chronic issues if cloud seeding is done regularly in an area.
• Despite having low environmental toxicity, silver and its compounds can still pose health risks.
• Authorities are also concerned that due to the damage caused by powerful rainfall, richer nations may be able to use them to wage war on their rival countries.
• This tactic is similar to biological warfare or nuclear warfare, where world superpowers develop strategies to adversely affect the people of poorer countries. They could use these techniques to cause them distress without actually physically attacking them with arms.
• The United States has been known to use cloud seeding as a weapon.
• For instance, during the Vietnam War, the US utilized cloud seeding to induce a powerful monsoon in Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam. This was seen as a strategy to incapacitate the Vietnamese army.
• The eventual outcome of cloud seeding is either more rain, especially in dry places, or no rain, as was the case during the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing.
• But occasionally, the outcomes of cloud seeding have been detrimental and caused irreparable damage, which could have been prevented if cloud seeding had not been done to artificially generate rainfall.
• Operation Cumulus was another purported name for a series of covert scientific tests that allegedly took place in the UK between August 4 and August 15, 1952.
• The experiment went wrong and resulted in flash floods in the Devon community of Lynmouth, England, that claimed 35 innocent lives.
• Another instance where cloud seeding went wrong in on the US East Coast in 1974 when dry ice was used to seed a hurricane.
• The hurricane passed across Georgia to the west coast instead of making landfall there.
• Due to the significant harm it caused, General Electric Corporation, the entity which carried out the operation, was sued.