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| Image: pixabay |
Is the development of science beneficial to one? Or dangerous? It depends on the thoughts of the person. An example of this is the mobile phone we use. It is very useful for people. But if it is used incorrectly or excessively, some dangers may also occur. Similarly, nuclear energy can be used to create weapons of mass destruction, generate electricity, and do other useful things.
Science is a weapon. It can be used for destruction as well as for creation.
Today, this science has advanced to the point of artificially creating rain itself. Researches for this have started since 1940s. Various countries like America, China, and Arab countries have started artificially generating rain. Some media say that even the current floods in Dubai are due to their attempt to create artificial rain.
To top it all off, China stopped the impending rain in one place. The reason for this is that on the day of the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games to be held in Beijing, China, there are chances of rain, the country's Meteorological Center had predicted. That is why China stopped the rain. But how?
To know this, first we need to know about how artificial rain is created.
How is artificial rain created?
Water in river, ocean, lake, pond, etc. evaporates due to the influence of sun and moves upwards and mixes with clouds. As the water droplets in the clouds increase in size, they coalesce into larger droplets and fall downward due to Earth's gravity. This phenomenon is called as rain.
But these water droplets cannot automatically merge with each other. Because they are very small. These water droplets attach to each other by holding on to dust particles and bacteria that may be present in the cloud. Perhaps if the cloud lacks any catchment to collect the water droplets, no matter how much droplets the cloud contains, it cannot form raindrops.
So, the formation of a raindrop here requires the capture of tiny dust-like particles in that cloud. If we can give them to that cloud, can't we make it rain?
Artificial rain is created on this basis. Cloud seeding is used to create artificial rain . In this method, chemicals like silver iodide, sodium chloride, potassium iodide, etc. are carried in particle form and sprinkled on the clouds. These particles act as a catch and hold the raindrops together.
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| Image: openclipart |
This event is performed in three different ways.
- The chemicals mentioned above are bound to the underside of an airplane, carried up to the cloud, and dispersed there.
- With the help of small rockets, these chemicals are carried to the clouds and spread there.
- Small towers are erected on large hilly areas. These chemicals are stored in them. When rain clouds approach, these towers collapse and release chemicals.
This process of cloud seeding has been done without the use of any chemicals. That is, in this way, tiny drones are sent to the cloud. These drones that have gone there provide a small amount of electricity to those clouds. Due to the small vibrations that occur, the water droplets in the cloud combine with each other to form rain.
The United States has used this method of cloud seeding for war as well. In countries like Dubai and China, separate teams have been appointed to create artificial rain.
This method of cloud seeding can only accelerate the chance of rain or make it rain more heavily.
It cannot form new clouds or make rain fall from clouds with less moisture.
World's First Artificial Rain:
As early as 1946, this method of cloud seeding was experimented with in New York City. In this experiment, two and a half kilograms of dry ice were sprinkled on the cloud. Then at a distance of 250 km from there, rainfall occurred. It was the first man-made artificial rain.
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| The first artificial rain Image: wikimedia commons |
Now let's come to this story. How did China stop the rain?
The country's meteorological agency had earlier predicted rain for the stadium in Beijing. Therefore, they used the method of cloud seeding to make the rain in the clouds that was supposed to gather in the ground fall in advance. So the rain that was going to fall on the ground was prevented. In a similar manner in 2015, Russia also held back rains that were supposed to fall in one place.
In India, last year, cloud seeding experiments were conducted at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) in Kanpur, with success.
Problems of cloud seeding:
There are some problems with this method. Some researchers believe that there is a possibility that the rain that should fall in one place falls in another place, causing damage to the environment.
To date, humans have not been harmed by the chemicals used in cloud seeding. But as more countries use this method in the future, the amount of chemicals may increase. Therefore, some researchers say that there is a possibility of some effects on humans.
Through this system, the people of that country get disappointed because the rain clouds that are supposed to go to one country and fall as rain, another country makes it rain earlier. Such problems are starting to crop up now, on a smaller scale.
Advantages of cloud seeding:
In Indonesia, this method has also been used to control storms. That is, the rain clouds that were supposed to gather in one place and bring down a heavy rain were made to fall before they gathered in one place. Thus, the damage that was going to be caused by the storm to that country was prevented.
Similarly, cloud seeding is also used to prevent excessive rainfall in agricultural lands.
Heavy rain in Dubai:
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| Image: pixabay |
Rainfall in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) is very low. Because most of these countries have deserts. In these countries, only 140-2200 mm of rain falls in a year. Hence, these countries rely heavily on cloud seeding.
This year, on April 15, the city of Dubai in the United Arab Emirates received heavy rains, recording 200 mm of rain in a single day. This rain is the rain that should normally fall in the city in two and a half years. Many people on social media have started posting that this is due to Dubai's heavy use of cloud seeding.
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| Image: pixabay |
However, many meteorologists believe that cloud seeding is not the cause. According to them, climate change is a major cause of this phenomenon. Because last year was the hottest year in Dubai's history. So, over the past year, all the water around the city may have evaporated due to excessive heat. Scientists believe that this water vapor is responsible for the heavy rainfall of the year. Global warming is a major cause of this climate change. Global warming can only be prevented by planting trees and preventing excess carbon emissions.
If we don't care about that, what happened in Dubai today may happen in our country tomorrow. So….
Let's grow trees! Let's protect the environment!!