7/09/13   GIZMODO 

 Cloud seeding is currently used all over the world—including

throughout the United States, China (where it is used to clear smog in

Beijing), India, and Russia—to enhance precipitation, both rain and

snow, while inhibiting hail and fog.

Cloud seeding takes effect by spraying microscopic particles like

aluminium oxide or silver iodide to affect the development of

condensation by acting as artificial ice nuclei.

The Sky’s the Limit

During its hosting of the 2008 Olympics, China went far beyond a

grandiose opening ceremony. The PRC reportedly had 30 airplanes,

4,000 rocket launchers, and 7,000 anti-aircraft guns on the ready to

obliterate any potential precipitation. This raises more than a few

technical and ethical questions, like “what are the environmental and

pathological consequences of spraying large amounts of silver iodide

into the atmosphere?” and “If China can stop rain on a whim for the

Olympics, what’s to keep them (or any nation) from weaponizing that

ability?”

LINK

The UAE’s Ionizers: Tearing the Sky a New One

The United Arab Emirates is a land rich in wealth but poor in

precipitation. That’s why president Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al

Nahyan has had the nation’s top scientific minds secretly toiling for

years to create a new means of weather manipulation that would work

more effectively in the region’s extreme temperatures. The result: The

biggest Ionic Breeze on Earth.

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