As reports keep pouring in about the havoc created by monsoon in some parts of India, Dubai just conjured up some rainfall for itself. Using a new method of cloud seeding in which they charged clouds with electricity, this city in the United Arab Emirates found some respite after battling temperatures over 50 degree Celsius. Cloud seeding has been around for some time now and has been employed in India on multiple occasions to mitigate drought.
Explaining the process, Kondala Murali Mohan, a scientist with Krishi Vigyan Kendra (Medak), said: “Cloud seeding is a process to create artificial rain. Here, chemicals like silver iodide, potassium iodide and dry ice are sent to the atmosphere through helicopters or planes. These particles attract the water vapour in the air, leading to the formation of cumulonimbus clouds and finally rain. It generally takes half-an-hour to produce rainfall by this method. The time taken to generate rain depends on which portion of the cloud the chemicals are being injected into. Zapping the top layers gives the fastest results.”
Harmful Effects On Environment
However, these experiments are harmful to the environment. The scientist added: “The method can lead to acidification of the oceans, ozone layer depletion and an increase in the levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide. Silver is a heavy, toxic metal and it harms the health of plants, humans and animals. Cloud seeding is also a costly method. A foot of rainfall costs around USD 200.”
With so many side-effects, is the process worth it? “India is an agricultural country. When there are droughts and standing crops in the fields, cloud seeding can help to bring some respite. But it is not advisable in the long run,” said Murali.
Throwing more light on this method to manipulate the climate, weather blogger Sai Praneeth B, who goes by the name ‘Andhra Pradesh Weatherman’ on Twitter, said: “Clouds start precipitating at a point called Lifted Condensation Level. In cloud seeding, chemicals like silver iodide and hygroscopic salts are used as catalysts to reach that level. After that, the cloud molecules coalesce to form bigger ones that lead to rainfall. Recently, such experiments were carried out at Rayalaseema region in Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka.”
Stating that such experiments can lead to ecological imbalances, he adds: “For example, coastal Andhra region receives ample rainfall while Rayalaseema is an arid region. By manufacturing showers in the latter region on a day when it was not supposed to rain naturally, we are affecting the natural rainfall the coastal areas received that day. Cloud seeding is still in the experimental stage. I feel that the outcomes are not great compared to the cost and effort the whole exercise requires.” It is interesting to note here that Karnataka’s two-year cloud seeding project cost the state a whopping Rs 89 crore.
Many states in India which were tackling droughts — including Maharashtra, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh — have used this process to regularise rainfall. Last year, Hindustan Aeronautics Limited signed an MoU with IIT Kanpur for providing Do-228 or HS 748 aircraft for the institute’s cloud seeding projects.
A Greener Option?
The Dubai experiment is said to be a greener alternative to the traditional methods as electric charge was administered through battery-operated drones. The rain creation project in Dubai was carried out by University of Reading which was engaged by the UAE Research Program for Rain Enhancement Science in 2017. In a release, the university had said: “The electric charge method operates by making the droplets stick to each other, again helping the growth rate. This will also be administered by using aircraft, but small remote-controlled aircraft which are battery-powered and therefore environmentally friendly.”
Did You Know?
Anxious about the perennially rainy English weather, Prince William and Kate Middleton used cloud seeding services to keep their wedding dry.
China used cloud seeding to keep the 2008 Beijing Olympics rain-free. They fired chemical rockets into the sky to ensure that it rained before the ceremony.
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