Some of you may remember Sean Connery playing Sir August de Wynter in the 1998 movie Avengers. He was hell bent on controlling the weather. At that time, the younger me thought it was fascinating that you could control a natural phenomenon. However, I now know that it is something many countries are actively doing.
Silver is one of the 2 key ingredients used in cloud seeding. The other being iodine. Cloud seeding is a weather manipulation technique that improves the cloud’s ability to produce snow or rain. Tiny ice nuclei are inserted into certain types of subfreezing clouds to act as a platform for snowflakes to form. The snowflakes amass quickly and soon fall back to the earth, increasing the snowfall.
A dilute solution of silver iodide is burnt from generators on the ground or released from aircrafts. When the silver iodide reaches the clouds, it acts as an ice forming nuclei to aid in the production of snowflakes.
This technique is usually carried out during winter to increase natural water supply to the affected areas. However, it can’t be used during dry winters as it still depends on the moisture in the atmosphere. It also should not be used when increased precipitation would lead be problematic.
Why would anyone want to create more rain or snow? Aren’t snowy and rainy days inconvenient? Some amongst us may be thinking along these lines. However, this is a way for countries to supplement the natural water supply of the surrounding areas. In some cases, water supply to the surrounding areas are increased by ten to fifteen percent using this method. This can help lessen the effects of drought in some areas with lower rainfall.
Other uses of cloud seeding include preventing hailstorms, dissipating fogs or reducing lightning.
Source: dri.edu
