Cloud seeding in Beijing, where silver iodide is fired with canons into the clouds to induce rain. (Photo from Howstuffworks.com)
As the fourth driest country in the world, Jordan is desperate for a water solution. This week, the Jordan Times anounced that Amman asked Thailand for help in cloud seeding to open the skies. It’s one of many Jordanian projects to get more water, such as the Red-Dead Canal and the Edama conservation campaign.
Thailand began experimenting with cloud seeding in 1969, led by King Bhumibol Adulyadej. It launched seeding on a wide scale during severe droughts in 2005. The technique, according to the Independent, is to spray silver iodide into warm and cold clouds at different altitudes. This year, a Jordanian technical team will visit Thailand during the April and May dry season to see how it’s done.
Thailand is not the only country to try better rain through chemicals. China is the world’s largest cloud seeder, and used the technology to disperse the smog over Beijing prior to the 2008 Olympics.
However, the technology is not without its detractors. The Chinese rain operation drew controversy in 2004 when one province claimed cloud seeding “stole” rain from them and gave it to another. Environmental concerns include the effect of tiny particles of silver iodide falling from the sky onto cities and waterways, yet according to this interview with Australian radio station EarthBeat, the iodide particles are small and dispersed and get locked in the soil once they come down.
Author: Daniella Cheslow
Daniella Cheslow grew up in a car-dependent suburb in New Jersey, where she noticed strip malls and Wal-Marts slowly replacing farmland. Her introduction to nature came through hiking trips in Israel. As a counselor for a freshman backpacking program at Northwestern University, Daniella noticed that Americans outdoors seemed to need to arm themselves with performance clothing, specialized water bottles and sophisticated camping silverware. This made her think about how to interact with and enjoy nature simply. This year, Daniella is getting a Master’s in Geography from Ben Gurion University of the Negev. She also freelance writes, photographs and podcasts. In her free time, she takes day trips in the desert, drops off compost and cooks local foods like stuffed zucchini, kubbeh and majadara. Daniella gets her peak oil anxiety from James Howard Kunstler and her organic food dreams from Michael Pollan. Read more at her blog, TheTruthHerzl.com. Daniella can be reached at daniella (at) greenprophet (dot) com.
Israel's Mekorot is seeding clouds, I learned last week. Don't know too much about it but wonder how that effects global weather patterns. And is that fair, to take the rain from clouds on their way to Africa or Europe? I think it's scary.
Israel's Mekorot is seeding clouds, I learned last week. Don't know too much about it but wonder how that effects global weather patterns. And is that fair, to take the rain from clouds on their way to Africa or Europe? I think it's scary.
Israel's Mekorot is seeding clouds, I learned last week. Don't know too much about it but wonder how that effects global weather patterns. And is that fair, to take the rain from clouds on their way to Africa or Europe? I think it's scary.