5 January 2026 | ZEROGeoengineering.com| Research published by Institut de Recherche Stratégique de l’Ecole Militaire discusses potential consequences of China’s weather modification practices on the Tibetan plateau. The paper examines environmental and ethical implications of altering precipitation patterns via cloud seeding interventions and the impacts on water availability downstream that could  lead to regional tensions. The authors state, “This situation exemplifies a form of hydro-hegemony, where China’s unilateral control over transboundary water resources may disrupt existing power balances and create security dilemmas among neighboring nations, such as India.” 

Because these techniques involve the chemical modification of the atmosphere and aim to influence the distribution of water resources, they are prone to tensions.

The concept of “hydro-hegemony”—which traditionally refers to a state’s domination over transboundary water resources
through power asymmetries, legal instruments, and discursive control—has primarily been applied to surface and groundwater management. However, this research paper suggests extending its analytical scope to include atmospheric interventions. 

weather modification technologies are, in themselves, instruments of state-led hydropolitics aimed at exerting control over water resources

…origins can be traced to a research program initiated by Mao Zedong in 1956 titled “Preliminary Research on the Physics of Clouds and Precipitation and Artificial Rain”

China’s Practices and Policies on Weather Modification 1949-2010

China’s Practices and Policies on Weather Modification 2013-2020

Changes in precipitation caused by cloud seeding on the Tibetan Plateau could, indeed, have cascading effects on India’s water resources.

Ultimately, the ongoing developments in China’s weather modification practices highlight the pressing need for discussions on the governance of atmospheric interventions.

Link To Chinese Cloud Seeding Practices on the Tibetan Plateau