Cloud Seeding

Cloud Seeding Latest News

Recently, a small aircraft known as the Cessna 206H conducted a cloud seeding trial in Delhi amid the recent spike in air pollution. 

About Cloud Seeding

• It is a weather-modification technique used to modify suitable clouds with ‘seed’ particles to increase rainfall.
• To induce rain artificially, clouds are usually injected with salts like silver iodide, potassium iodide, or sodium chloride, which is the ‘seed’.
• These salts are expected to provide additional nuclei around which more cloud droplets can form.
• They are dispersed into the cloud either using aircraft or through generators on the ground.

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Meteorological Requirements for Cloud Seeding

• Sufficient moisture: The target clouds must contain an adequate amount of water vapour and liquid water to be condensed into precipitation.
• Cloud characteristics: Clouds targeted for seeding must have sufficient vertical thickness. For example, some cloud-seeding projects require clouds to be at least 1 kilometre thick.
• Favourable winds:  Wind direction must transport the seeding material toward the intended area and wind speed must not be so high that it prevents clouds from growing tall or blows the seeding agents away from the target zone.
• Vertical air currents: Clouds with strong vertical updrafts are considered ideal because they help disperse the seeding agents and promote cloud development. 

Source: IE