There is, indeed, a method to create rain artificially—cloud seeding. Cloud seeding is when one uses particles like silver iodide or calcium carbonate to create more solid moisture. One spreads these particles across the sky in clouds so that the water vapor in the sky made by evaporation becomes a larger mass of water/ice. This causes precipitation to fall down to earth as rain. It’s called “seeding” clouds because you get to condense the water vapor into droplets that resemble small seeds.
There are various types of seeding methods—including static, dynamic, and hygroscopic seedings. Static seeding is to spread some of the salt crystals in the air, in which rain will begin to form faster than natural rates. Dynamic seeding is when, instead of letting the salt crystals sit, one sends updrafts of water vapor and crystals to make them condense faster. However, dynamic seeding involves more steps and is thus much more complicated. Hygroscopic seeding involves using an airplane to release salt from canisters in the air. As a result, you spread the salt crystals along the path of the plane.
One advantage of cloud seeding is that it can increase rainfall by 10%. Moreover, this method reduces drought in certain areas, reduces the amount of fog, and reduces the size of hails and storms. All these uses prove how cloud seeding can be extremely beneficial to humanity. Additionally, this method saves money for insurance companies, as it can stop hail and make snow/rain instead.
However, there are many cons of cloud seeding, despite its revolutionizing effects. While it may benefit humans, cloud seeding is toxic to aquatic life, due to the harmful silver iodide it releases. Furthermore, it can possibly reduce rain from areas in the process of giving rain to other areas. It can be weaponized to create floods or extend of monsoon season, and may cause major problems to the atmosphere, accelerating global warming. In addition, cloud seeding is utterly expensive, costing up to 400 dollars to be applied to an acre.
In conclusion, cloud seeding has the potential to be a tool that saves communities from facing certain environmental hazards, but at the same time has the ability to create so much more danger to the world. Nevertheless, the science behind this incredible technology is still fascinating to ponder.
Work Cited
https://science.howstuffworks.com/nature/climate-weather/meteorologists/cloud-seeding.htm#pt1
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/cloud-seeding-china-snow/
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