Dear EarthTalk: What are the environmental implications of “blueskying”—that is, seeding clouds to affect the weather—like China did in preparation for hosting the Olympics back in 2008?
—William S., Raleigh, NC
Cloud seeding—also called “blueskying”—involves releasing chemicals such as silver iodide, potassium iodide or calcium chloride into the atmosphere to stimulate cloud formation, enhance clouds’ precipitation or suppress rain where blue skies are desired. China used cloud seeding to ensure dry weather for the 2008 Beijing Olympics, one of the most recent and significant examples of the technique being used on a large scale. China has also used cloud seeding to stimulate precipitation to help replenish its shrinking Yangtze River watershed.
But at what price to the environment, you might ask? Cloud seeding can theoretically go well, but there is always a chance of unintended adverse consequences. Releasing these chemicals into the atmosphere can contaminate water supplies below and affect human and animal health. Researchers from Spain’s Complutense University found in a 2016 study that silver iodide causes acute toxicity for a range of living organisms both in soil and freshwater.
Another potential environmental implication of cloud seeding is its potential effect on weather patterns. Increased precipitation in one area could lead to droughts in nearby areas, as the rain is diverted away from those regions. Similarly, cloud seeding could cause excessive rainfall, leading to flooding and other weather-related disasters. Cloud seeding could also have an impact on agriculture and natural ecosystems. While increased rainfall may be beneficial for some crops, it could lead to soil erosion and other negative impacts on the environment. Similarly, increased rainfall could alter the ecosystem’s balance, leading to the proliferation of certain species and the decline of others.
Cloud seeding can also have an impact on the Earth’s ozone layer. Silver iodide can break down ozone molecules in the atmosphere, leading to the depletion of the ozone layer. Ozone depletion can have severe consequences for the environment, including increasing our exposure to harmful ultraviolet radiation and the potential for climate change.
Given all the potential risks, governments should proceed cautiously with any plans to seed clouds. Perhaps with more research and refinement humans can perfect the process in the future, but until then it might be better to just accept whatever weather we have. Of course, what we think here in North America has little impact on what the Chinese or others elsewhere think about this type of geoengineering, so get ready for it to become more and more common around the world.
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Does Cloud Seeding Have an Impact on Health and the Environment? So far, experts haven't found any harmful effects of cloud seeding with silver iodide
silver iodide
Silver iodide is an inorganic compound with the formula AgI. The compound is a bright yellow solid, but samples almost always contain impurities of metallic silver that give a grey colouration. The silver contamination arises because some samples of AgI can be highly photosensitive.
However, its use raises ecological concerns because it might be toxic to terrestrial and aquatic life, prompting exploration of less harmful alternatives. Due to this, ongoing studies explore using negatively charged ions like calcium chloride instead of ice-like crystals as less harmful, but uncertainties persist.
Critics argue that seeding clouds in one region may simply deprive another of rain, as the clouds will unleash precipitation before they were meant to. (Iran has for years accused its neighbors of “stealing their rain.”) Others have expressed health concerns about the chemicals used to seed clouds.
The technique has faced some controversies and concerns, including questions about its environmental impact and the safety of the chemicals used. Some critics argue that the environmental effects and long-term consequences of cloud seeding are not fully understood.
There is no proof that seeding can or cannot change tornado potential in a thunderstorm. This is because there is no way to know that the things a thunderstorm does after seeding would not have happened anyway. This includes any presence or lack of rain, hail, wind gusts or tornadoes.
The most common chemicals used for cloud seeding include silver iodide, potassium iodide and dry ice (solid carbon dioxide). Liquid propane, which expands into a gas, has also been used. It can produce ice crystals at higher temperatures than silver iodide.
3. Who is funding cloud-seeding programs? Cloud-seeding programs occur worldwide. In the Western U.S., state and agency-supported efforts occur across California, Nevada, Colorado, New Mexico, Wyoming, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, North Dakota, Utah, and Idaho.
Cloud seeding is used around the WORLD - not just in Dubai: How countries including the US, China, Switzerland and Australia have implemented the weather modification technique - and why it's controversial.
Silver iodide used for inducing artificial rain is not currently known to be harmful to our health. However, there are concerns about the potential environmental impact, such as unintended effects on ecosystems, water contamination, or altering natural precipitation patterns.
After cloud seeding takes place, the newly formed snowflakes quickly grow and fall from the clouds back to the surface of the Earth, increasing snowpack and streamflow.
Focusing on cloud seeding is misleading. “Rainfall is becoming much heavier around the world as the climate warms because a warmer atmosphere can hold more moisture. “Cloud seeding can't create clouds from nothing. It encourages water that is already in the sky to condense faster and drop water in certain places.
Vincent Joseph Schaefer (July 4, 1906 – July 25, 1993) was an American chemist and meteorologist who developed cloud seeding. On November 13, 1946, while a researcher at the General Electric Research Laboratory, Schaefer modified clouds in the Berkshire Mountains by seeding them with dry ice.
While we don't know specifically if cloud seeding poses a threat, some experts believe that it could lead to silver toxicity and environmental concerns if the practice becomes common on a much larger scale. Similarly, people worry that cloud seeding could throw off earth's natural balance of moisture.
Because moisture is the first ingredient for cloud seeding to produce rain, cloud seeing cannot be used as a solution to create rain during drought conditions.
The concept of cloud seeding has been used off and on, mainly by militaries, since the 1940s. It is a type of weather modification that can boost the productivity of rain or snow-producing clouds, Waldman said. Clouds are made up of countless water vapor particles that condense onto microscopic pieces of dust and salt.
The UAE's cloud-seeding programme is not responsible for creating thunderstorms, the National Centre of Meteorology has said. Many people on social media speculated on Wednesday that the bureau's work was responsible for torrential downpours that swept across the country.
Cloud seeding is used around the WORLD - not just in Dubai: How countries including the US, China, Switzerland and Australia have implemented the weather modification technique - and why it's controversial.
The idea is built on a scientific concept called the Twomey effect: Large numbers of small droplets reflect more sunlight than small numbers of large droplets. Injecting vast quantities of minuscule aerosols, in turn forming many small droplets, could change the composition of clouds.
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