China's Use of Cloud Seeding Technology

When it comes to China, one of the biggest issues that is consistently recognized is their problem with pollution. China has become notorious in the past decade for their terrible air pollution, as a result of the population density and massive amount of industrialization that has taken place. This pollution in turn has taken a toll on many of the locals within China's bustling cities, posing as a major public health risk for these citizens. Thus, in an effort to reduce pollution and improve air quality within its cities, the Chinese government is beginning to utilize cloud seeding technology once again.

First originating in the 1940s, cloud seeding technology has been used by many countries in the past in an attempt to change their weather patterns. Unfortunately, these attempts with this technology were never very successful. However, since the 2000s, cloud seeding technology has been revisited multiple times by countries such as China and the United States with the goal of reducing pollution, reducing rainfall, or shifting weather patterns to deliver more rain (Ali). One of the first major successful uses of cloud seeding technology in the 21st century can be seen with China and the 2008 Beijing Olympics. In this instance, they used this technology to clear the sky, reduce pollution, and prevent rain from falling before the beginning of the 2008 Olympics (Futurism). Since then, cloud seeding technology has slowly been adopted again (especially by China) for more frequent use with the intent of trying to reduce pollution in major cities.

Now that cloud seeding technology has proven to be both functional and beneficial, China has been seen using this technology once again this past summer. On July 1st, this year marked the 100th anniversary of the Chinese Communist Party, and China had a large-scale event take place at Tiananmen Square in honor of this anniversary. Ahead of the event, China launched multiple rockets that contained silver iodide, or dry ice, into the skies above Beijing. These silver iodide-filled rockets were able to increase the condensation of the clouds, allowing for more rainfall across Beijing. According to the World Health Organization standards, after the modified rainfall occurred the city's air quality index was able to change from "moderate" to "good". With another success under China's belt through this anniversary event, they are now looking into investing more resources into a weather modification program that is able to fully function for massive rain distribution by 2025 (Hart).

This concept of weather modification and the idea of a wide-scale weather modification program is highly compelling, as it has proven it can provide many benefits for heavily polluted countries like China. In the past China has dealt with some very serious pollution issues, and consequently it has severely affected the Chinese population. In the map provided above, the layers included show the large amounts of substandard air quality that China has to deal with. Especially seen in eastern cities like Zhengzhou, Jinan, and Wuhan, the air quality in these cities have ranged from 200 to over 500 on the air quality index. In the large red dot displayed over all of China, data shows that in 2016 the entire population of China was exposed to PM2.5 air pollutant values that were above WHO recommended guidelines. Because of the dangerous amounts of air pollution that Chinese citizens have to endure, it's good that China is starting to take more action on this issue again. With these small strides being taken to improve air pollution conditions in these major cities, China can help do their part in reducing their emissions and pollution in order to help better not only their climate, but the entire planet's climate as well.