Cloud Seeding: What is Cloud Seeding and How is it Used?

Humans have acquired the ability to control the weather to some extent. This has been made possible with the help of cloud seeding technology which allows artificial rainfall in desired locations. Cloud seeding has been around for many years and countries like China have invested millions of dollars in it. Now, this technology can also be used for personal benefits. For instance, a French company offers cloud seeding services for weddings at a cost of ten million, ensuring that it does not rain on the big day. Despite the benefits, there is a looming question of why this technology has not been used to solve some of the world’s pressing issues, such as water shortages, prolonged droughts, floods, and so on. In this article, we will talk about the Cloud Seeding Technology.

Is it possible for us to manipulate the weather? As a matter of fact, China and Thailand are already using Cloud Seeding to combat air pollution. The positive results are a direct outcome of effective cloud seeding. Before talking about Cloud Seeding technology, it is necessary to understand clouds. What exactly are clouds, and how are they formed?

How do Clouds Form?

During our schooling years, we were taught about the three states of matter: solid, liquid, and gas. In the case of water, the three states of matter are ice, liquid water, and gaseous water vapor. The transition of something from one state to another has a specific name. Melting is the name given to the process of ice turning into water. The process of water turning into ice is called freezing. Evaporation or vaporization is the process by which water turns into water vapor. When water vapor returns to its liquid form, it is known as condensation. Although it’s a fundamental concept, the term “condensation” will be used throughout this article, so keep it in mind. There is usually a high level of water vapor in the atmosphere, which results in high humidity. A lower level of water vapor corresponds to lower humidity levels.

As you may know, when water vapor rises into the atmosphere, it gets colder with an increase in altitude, just like how it gets colder in the mountains. At higher altitudes, this water vapor condenses due to the cold, turning into extremely tiny water droplets. These minuscule droplets, which are one-hundredth of a millimeter in diameter, are suspended in the air and form clouds. A cloud is made up of millions of these small water droplets. If a cloud is at an even higher altitude, the atmosphere is even colder, causing the water droplets to freeze into tiny crystals of ice, which then form clouds.

Types of Clouds:

So, in this sense, there are two types of clouds. One is made of water droplets, and the other is made of ice crystals. The difference between the two can be easily seen. The ice crystal clouds are at a higher altitude. You cannot see a clear boundary line, and they are thinner. The heavy clouds that are closer to the ground are made of water droplets.

How do these clouds rain?

Clouds form when tiny droplets of water come together and start to accumulate. As more droplets join in, the clouds get bigger. Then, these small droplets collide with each other, mixing and forming larger droplets. These bigger droplets rise up and freeze in the atmosphere, forming ice crystals. The ice crystals also collide and form even larger ice crystals. This process continues until the ice crystals become too heavy and fall to the ground. If it’s cold when they fall, they will fall like snow. But if it’s warm near the ground, they will melt and fall as rain droplets. This is how rain and snow are formed.

Serendipity:

Cloud seeding is a technology that was discovered by chance. This type of discovery is called serendipity, which means something happens by chance and ends up benefiting us. The discovery of penicillin by Dr. Alexander Fleming is another example of serendipitous discovery.

Cloud Seeding Technology:

Dr. Vincent Schaefer, an American chemist and meteorologist, discovered cloud seeding accidentally in 1943. He was experimenting with aircraft icing and precipitation and used a very cold box to conduct his research. During his experiments, he often breathed out in the cold box, which led to the discovery of cloud seeding.

When we exhale through our mouth, we release water vapor which can condense in cold weather. This was observed during an experiment. You can even experience it yourself by exhaling outside in cold weather, which may seem like you are releasing smoke or fog. In fact, the tiny droplets you see are condensed water vapor. This is the same process that creates clouds, and it is not incorrect to say that you can exhale a miniature cloud in winter.

Dr. Vincent Schaefer Discovery:

Dr. Schaefer observed something interesting and decided to investigate it further. He wondered what would happen if he cooled the box down more and used dry ice for this. Dry ice is a solid form of carbon dioxide used for refrigeration and cooling, and it exists only at a temperature of -78°C. When he placed some dry ice in the cold box and breathed out into it, he saw a blueish haze of millions of microscopic ice crystals. He noticed that if the temperature is reduced quickly, then water vapor will instantly turn into ice crystals, just like what happens in clouds at the last stage. When those ice crystals become huge and heavier than the atmosphere, they fall as snow. Using dry ice has sped up this process, and Dr. Schaefer conducted more experiments to understand what was happening.

Dr. Vincent Schaefer invented a technique called cloud seeding after discovering that crushed dry ice can be used to instantly cool clouds in the sky, resulting in snowfall or rain. He conducted his first test on a cloud near Mount Greylock on November 13, 1946, during a flight from New York, carrying 2.5 kg of dry ice. The experiment was successful, and he saw instant heavy snowfall and rain. Today, Dr. Vincent Schaefer is credited with inventing cloud seeding.

Before Dr. Vincent Schaefer:

Wilhelm Reich claimed to have invented a machine called the cloud-buster that could manipulate the atmosphere and cause rain by using cosmic energy, which he called Orgone energy. However, this was later found to be fraudulent. The machine didn’t work at all, and it was just a way for Reich to take credit for something he didn’t invent. Another scientist, Dr. Bernard Vonnegut, was also working on cloud seeding technology from a different perspective. Vonnegut wanted to use a chemical to carry out the process based on the condensation property of water, instead of using dry ice to make the clouds colder for cloud seeding to work.

Process of Condensation:

Condensation is a process that requires a non-gaseous surface to convert water vapor into water. Without such a surface, water vapor won’t condense, even if the temperature drops to -10°C. In our atmosphere, dust particles and pollens act as surfaces and help in the formation of clouds by carrying out the condensation process. However, the better the surface, the faster and better the condensation process. A practical example of this is when you take a shower in your bathroom. If there are glass surfaces around the shower area, you can see water droplets collecting on them due to the condensation process. Similarly, in winter, the corners of windows may have water droplets due to high humidity and high water vapor content in the air, which condenses when it meets the cold glass on the windows. Glass provides a surface for the condensation process to occur.

Dr. Vonnegut believed that if we provide a better surface, the process of condensation will be faster. He experimented with chemicals such as silver and iodide and discovered that silver iodide is a good surface for water vapor. It has the ability to absorb a lot of moisture, attracting water vapor to it and converting it into water. Today, we know about several materials, like silver iodide, which can absorb the moisture around them. We call these materials Cloud Seeds or Cloud Condensation Nuclei. By using these cloud seed materials and throwing them on the clouds, we can expedite the condensation process to get rain. This idea was first tested by Dr. Schaefer, who threw dry ice on top of the clouds.

Improvements in Cloud Seeding Technology:

In 1946, General Electric discovered two methods to control the weather, which were revolutionary at that time. These methods are known as cloud seeding. Initially, people used airplanes to throw cloud seeds on clouds, but it was an expensive approach. Later on, they started using rockets with cloud seeds to collide with the clouds and scatter the seeds. After the invention of this technique, people and governments worldwide looked for ways to use it for their benefit.

In November 1955, the Thai king initiated the Thailand Royal Rainmaking Project to help farmers who were suffering from droughts. This method of creating artificial rain was somewhat successful and is now managed by the Department of Royal Rainmaking and Agriculture Aviation in Thailand. The king was later awarded by the Eureka Organization for his contribution. In India, cloud seeding operations were conducted during 1983-1987 and by the Tamil Nadu government in 1993-94 when faced with a severe drought situation. The Karnataka government initiated cloud seeding in 2003-04, and in Maharashtra, a US-based company, Weather Modification Inc., conducted operations the same year.

Can the Rain be stopped with Cloud Seeding?

We will talk about how successful these operations were later, but before that, many countries realized that they could use cloud seeding to stop the rain, too. If you look at the overall process, what are we doing here? We are speeding up the condensation process. We are trying to get the water droplets in the clouds to rain as soon as possible.

So if on a specific day, in a specific area, we want to prevent rain, then over the last several days, cloud seeding needs to be carried out in the surrounding areas. That means the water droplets in the clouds would have already rained, and there would be no more clouds. Thus, there was no rain for the few specified days. This exact technique was used in 2008 by China during the Beijing Olympics. They wanted to avoid any rain during the opening ceremony so that there would be no problems.

China used iodide sticks to make it snow in Beijing back in February 2009, during a drought. This process was successful, and it snowed for three days straight, causing the closure of 12 roads. Now, China plans to use this same method to revive the Yangtze River. This might be achievable with proper planning, but it won’t be an easy task due to the size of the river.

What can Cloud Seeding do?

Did you know that ski resorts in the USA use cloud seeding to ensure they have reliable snowfall? They need this snowfall so that people can ski, and if there isn’t enough snow, the resorts will go out of business. Cloud seeding is a way to produce snow artificially. It’s also used to reduce the size of hailstones so they don’t cause damage and to reduce fog around airports to keep flights on schedule. Some airports around the world use cloud seeding to control fog.

Bulgaria came up with an effective way to protect their crops from hail. They formed the National Network of Hail Protection and strategically positioned rockets filled with silver iodide around farms. When hail is expected, they use the rockets to control it, and the process only takes 10 minutes. This method has successfully protected crops from hail damage and has been in use since the 1960s.

In 2008, Russia tried an interesting cloud-seeding method by using cement bags. However, during an attempt to seed clouds on June 17th, a bag of cement was thrown at the clouds but didn’t melt. Instead, it fell on a man’s house, creating a 3-foot-deep pit. Therefore, if a cement bag falls on your house, you now know why.

Pros and Cons of Cloud Seeding:

Cloud seeding is a technology that has its advantages and disadvantages. While it may seem like a miraculous solution to droughts and water scarcity, it is important to understand its potential impact on the environment. The main concern with cloud seeding is its long-term effect on the weather. However, studies have shown that cloud seeding does not have any lasting negative effects on the environment.

Cloud seeding is essentially a way to speed up the process of condensation and force existing clouds to rain sooner rather than later. It is not a way to create new clouds or add water vapor to the air. Therefore, it can only be used to postpone rain or change its location over a relatively short distance. It is not effective in increasing the total amount of rain, and there is no concrete evidence to support this claim.

In conclusion, while cloud seeding may seem like a useful technology, it is important to understand its limitations and potential impact on the environment. It is not a solution to water scarcity or droughts, but rather a way to manipulate the timing and location of rainfall.

At first, people were worried about the potential harm caused by using silver iodide during cloud seeding, but the amount used is minimal and poses no threat to the environment or health. However, it’s important to understand the limitations of this technology. Cloud seeding can redirect rainfall to a specific location, but it cannot create clouds where there are none. Essentially, cloud seeding technology is a way to control where the rain falls and when it falls, but it cannot create rain or clouds.

Cloud Zapping:

New methods for cloud seeding are being developed, such as Cloud Zapping. This involves sending drones into the sky to give an electric charge to the clouds. The electric charge helps small droplets merge more easily into big droplets, which results in faster and more efficient rain. Cloud Zapping is currently being tested in countries like the UAE, and it has been suggested that it should be used alongside traditional cloud seeding techniques. This involves using silver iodide and providing electric currents to the clouds to improve the efficiency of the process.

Misuse of Cloud Seeding:

Cloud seeding technology, which is used to manipulate weather patterns, has been used irresponsibly only once in history. During the Vietnam War in the 1970s, the American Air Force carried out Operation Popeye, a secret program to extend the monsoon season in Vietnam. The goal was to hinder North Vietnam’s military supplies by making the roads impassable and the soil unstable. The program used silver iodide to induce heavy rain in Vietnam. This was the first and only instance of meteorological warfare. Since then, no country has misused this technology.

Conspiracy Theories Related to Cloud Seeding:

• Some people believe that the government is using technology to manipulate the weather for their own benefit. These conspiracy theories gained popularity when there was snowfall in Texas, USA, in 2021, and some people claimed that it was artificially created by the government. They also blamed Bill Gates for this.
• Similarly, when California experienced a drought, some conspiracy theorists blamed the government’s weather manipulation for it.
• These claims are part of the Chemtrail Conspiracy Theory, which suggests that all aircraft contain chemicals that are used to modify the weather, manipulate people’s minds, and control the population. However, scientists have repeatedly proven these claims to be false. There is no evidence to support the Chemtrail Conspiracy Theory.

Summary:

The technology under discussion has certain limitations, but it can certainly be used in some strategic places. For instance, it can be employed to prevent rain during the opening ceremony of the Olympics or to avoid rain during a cricket match. In case you have a considerable budget, this technology can also be utilized to stop rain during your wedding. However, it is important to note that this technology might not be very effective in major events, fighting droughts, or combating climate change.