China Spends $168M For Rain Weather Control To Combat Drought

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The Chinese government approved a three-year weather control project worth 1.15B yuan (estimated at $168B), making it as one of the biggest government programs for weather modification.

Despite the enormous cost, a feasibility study from the China Meteorological Administration (CMA) found that such an investment is necessary in order to provide increased rain and snow in an area that is 960,000 sq km large, which is about 10 percent of China's territory.

The CMA will use the money to upgrade its existing planes, add new ones, develop more rocket launch device and configure devices necessary for digital control systems. Additional planes are necessary as artificial rain is made through cloud seeding in which planes are used to fill target clouds with dry ice, as per Next Shark.

In recent years, weather modification through cloud seeding has significantly increased in China for various purposes-such as cooling humid air during the summer, cleaning up smog from cities and weather improvement during important events, according to the South China Morning Post. For this project, the artificial rainfall is expected to improve water resource and alleviate the drought in the northwestern region of the country, which is typically affected by water shortage.

Since 2006, artificial rain enhancement has increased precipitation in the country by as much as 55 billion cubic meters, as per He Shengcun, an official from the Qinghai province's weather control department. The amount of precipitation gained is equivalent to 150 percent of the water in the Three Gorges' reservoir, which just shows how much water has been amassed so far.

Apart from the project, Beijing has also set up a "development plan" for weather control until 2020. The mainland government has a history of massive weather modification but with mixed results so far. Artificial rain enhancement is seen as less controversial unlike dams, which might explain why it's the preferred method of choice for weather modification.

Find out more on cloud seeding and other methods to create artificial rain here: