China will conduct the largest weather experiment in history
China is building the foundations of what will become the largest artificial rain induction experiment in history. Middle Kingdom scientists aim to increase rainfall on the Tibetan plateau by 10 billion cubic meters per year.
The project envisions installing in Tibetan goaccounts of the comor combustion, whichore will produce silver iodide, thanks to which theorm is expected to increase rainfall in the region by up to 10 billionoin the metreoin cubic meters per year. This is an extension of the Tianhe project or "Sky River" developed by scientistsow 2016 at China’s Tsinghua University.
Researchers hope to induce additional falloutow over the Tibetan plateau. It is a huge area of 1.6 million kilometersoin square – three times the size of Spain’s. If the plan succeeds, the additional rainfall will account for about 7 percent of the. of the Middle Kingdom’s annual water consumption.
– Weather modification in Tibet is a key innovation in solving China’s water shortage problem. This will make an important contribution not only to the development ofoj China and global prosperity, but also in the well-being of all humanity – said Lei Fanpei, president of the state-owned China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation, ktora is developing the project.
While the whole project sounds like something out of a science-fiction movie, this form of weather modification, called cloud seeding, is something that scientists prob have been achieving for decades. China is investing considerable resources in the concept.
The Tibetan project assumes that solid fuel will be burned in the chambers, so that theoru will produce silver iodide particles with a crystalline structure resembling lod. Silver iodide is expected to be carried into the atmosphere by the wind, where it is expected to create clouds capable of producing rain and snow.
Furnaces, whichore to produce silver iodide, have been set up on steep ridges gorsk and zwrocone are in the direction from which theorej comes monsoon from south Asia. When the wind hits the gory, will spread silver iodide high into the atmosphere. The devices are expected to operate for months or even years without maintenance.
The combustion chambers were designed by an engineerow associated with China’s space industry. The latest technology is expected to enable the safe and efficient combustion of high-density solid fuel in a low-oxygen environment at altitudes of more than 5,000. meterow.
Due to the sensitivity of the project „South China Morning Post” did not give details of theoĊoin the venture. It is known that an entire fleet of satellites is to be involved in the projectoin weather monitoring. They are also to remotely control combustion chambers.
– To date, we have placed more than 500 comor combustion on the slopes of Tibet and other areas where the experiment is to take place. The data collected show very promising results – said one of the researchers involved in the project.
Chinese authorities also intend to use other methods of cloud seeding using aircraftoin, a droneow or artillery. All to maximize the effect of the.
While the idea is not new – other countries, such as the United States, have conducted similar tests on small areas of the. China was the first to undertake proI will apply this technology on a large scale.
But not everyone is convinced the Chinese planow to create artificial falloutow over such a vast area, especially since there are still many weather-related things about ktoof which we do not have the faintest idea. – Such weather modification does not result in rain per se. Rather, it causes rain somewhere, which means it won’t happen elsewhere. This, in turn, means that the ecosystems and people living where the rain would fall will not have it – said Janos Pastor, a geoengineer with the Carnegie Climate Geoengineering Governance Initiative.
If true, the potential impact of the Chinese experiment could mean that entire cloud systems covering vast areas could be redirected to increase falloutow over the Tibetan plateau.
It is currently unknown when the project will be completed and when the first tests will take place.