Pakistan Uses Artificial Rain in Attempt To Cut Pollution Levels (theguardian.com) 29
Artificial rain has been used in an attempt to lower pollution levels in Lahore, Pakistan. From a report: The capital city of the eastern province of Punjab, near the Indian border, has some of the worst air quality in the world and has become extremely polluted because of a growing population of more than 13 million people. By early December, the air quality in the city had grown so bad that schools, markets and parks were closed for four days. By last weekend, the city's air quality index (AQI) had reached levels considered extremely hazardous to health.
To try to reduce them, on Saturday the Punjab government used cloud seeding to create rain in 10 locations around the city using a small Cessna plane. To create the clouds, there needs to be enough moisture already present in the clouds in the lower atmosphere. In summer, common table salt mixed with water is sprayed over the cloud patches from planes. After a few hours, the mist integrates with the clouds and produces rain. In winter, the clouds are seeded using flakes of silver iodide, which can be fired from a vehicle or a plane. The practice, also known as "blueskying," has been used to induce precipitation in several countries in the Middle East, as well as China and India.
To try to reduce them, on Saturday the Punjab government used cloud seeding to create rain in 10 locations around the city using a small Cessna plane. To create the clouds, there needs to be enough moisture already present in the clouds in the lower atmosphere. In summer, common table salt mixed with water is sprayed over the cloud patches from planes. After a few hours, the mist integrates with the clouds and produces rain. In winter, the clouds are seeded using flakes of silver iodide, which can be fired from a vehicle or a plane. The practice, also known as "blueskying," has been used to induce precipitation in several countries in the Middle East, as well as China and India.
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Not the top poster, but long ago during my "JREF Skeptical Liberal Twat" phase I would almost reflexively dismiss any idea of weather modification if I heard it from my conspiracy-theory-enjoying buddy, because he was a firm believer in chemtrails, but he also would talk about cloud seeding.
And it turns out cloud seeding is a real thing.
As an aside, I remember skeptics continuing to dismiss the notion of rogue waves as fantastic sailor tales, even years after such waves have been officially recorded. Thus t
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Re:More right wing conspiracy theories. (Score:5, Insightful)
This moves pollution, not cuts it (Score:3)
Rain will wash the pollution from the air and so moves it to the ground & rivers; ie the pollution is just in a different place. The only real way of cutting pollution is to not generate so much in the first place.
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It's what plants crave
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The runoff will also contain sodium choride, which kills plants. You're basically salting the earth.
That was my first thought too. Seems a risky idea to throw salt into clouds if you have any farmland around. But, what the hell, right? Salt the earth. Plants probably need some seasoning anyway.
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Rain will wash the pollution from the air and so moves it to the ground & rivers; ie the pollution is just in a different place. The only real way of cutting pollution is to not generate so much in the first place.
That depends on the kind of smoke and the quantity. I recall a saying that goes something like "the dose is the poison" to explain this. I remember growing up on the farm where there was a hog confinement building on the side of a hill. If the pit beneath the building wasn't cleared of the manure before it reached the overflow pipes then the weeds on the hillside would look like it was burned. In a way it was because in concentration that stuff can give a chemical burn. When put on a "honey wagon" (not
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https://www.energy.gov/ne/adva... [energy.gov]
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Rain will wash the pollution from the air and so moves it to the ground & rivers; ie the pollution is just in a different place. The only real way of cutting pollution is to not generate so much in the first place.
Yes that is the point. Pollution is mainly a problem where it has the most severe effect. Consider this: you are out side in the park and you do a big fart: Not a problem. You are in a tight confined space with no airflow and you do a big fart: Big problem.
The pollution in question is closing down schools and killing people because it is in the air. It not being in the air is a significant benefit even if the pollution itself doesn't cease existing.
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The only real way of cutting pollution is to not generate so much in the first place.
Half the time they are downwind of India. The other half, downwind of China.
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Getting rid of a few billion people would serve the same purpose.
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Cloud seeding has a long history (Score:2)
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> in Calgary (Canada), it's long been used in an attempt to minimize hail damage by starting hail storms sooner than normal
TIL. That's kind of cool, though I'm surprised if it's been done for any length of time that there isn't at least statistical evidence supporting the practice by now.
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Yeah, the smart money seems to be, no, it doesn't work. But people desperately *want* it to work, so they keep having at it.
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I did a little reading... one paywalled journal study and that's it. Lots of press releases.
However, the insurance industry IS funding it, and they have actuaries who are masters at number crunching. I wouldn't bet my life on it because ultimately they're all just human, but there's probably some data justifying the millions the insurance industry is shelling out each year for this program. They may not have any meteorologists to confirm the cause and effect relationship, but they'll know if their payou
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The Soviets tried cloud seeding after the Chernobyl explosion to keep the radioactive fallout from reaching Moscow.
Sounds like SciFi (Score:3)
Artificial rain? (Score:2)
WTH is artificial rain? Have they somehow figured out how to synthesize water that isn't water? LOL, sounds like ChatGPT wrote this.
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It would be used on ACs too often.
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WTH is artificial rain?
A very well known and widely used term for cloud seeding. Well actually the correct term is "artificial rainmaking" but close enough. You should read more of what ChatGPT produces, it sounds like you could learn a thing or two despite it's garbage output, which really is saying something.