China needs water — and their answer to the issue is a massive weather modification system being developed by the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC). South China Morning Post (SCMP) reported the country is testing technology that could increase rainfall in the Tibetan Plateau by as much as 10 billion cubic meters, or around 353 billion cubic feet, every year.
Will a huge rain-making system help China with water issues? SCMP said they plan to build tens of thousands of chambers across the Tibetan mountains to generate rain over an area of around 620,000 square miles, or “three times the size of Spain.” The chambers will burn solid fuel to create silver iodide, which SCMP described as a “cloud-seeding agent with a crystalline structure much like ice.” They said the chambers will be located on steep ridges facing the south Asia monsoon. Wind striking the mountain will produce an upward draft, carrying particles into clouds to bring about rain.
Related: World’s largest fog harvester produces water from thin air in the Moroccan desert.
Real-time data from 30 weather satellites, each one watching monsoon weather above the Indian Ocean, will guide daily operation of the chambers. The ground-based network will also draw on cloud-seeding methods with drones, planes, and artillery to maximize the impact of the system, according to SCMP.
A researcher on the project told SCMP, “[So far,] more than 500 burners have been deployed on alpine slopes in Tibet, Xinjiang, and other areas for experimental use. The data we have collected show very promising results.”
The publication said although the idea isn’t a new one, China is the first country to try “such a large-scale application,” and space scientists designed and built the chambers with “cutting edge military rocket engine technology.”
China’s new rain-making system could increase rainfall by billions of cubic feet [Inhabitat]