Meteorologists choose appropriate clouds that can be seeded to generate precipitation. This cloud is mostly a cumulus or stratus cloud which carries high water content.
Material for seeding:
For every cloud type, based on the requirement of desired rainfall rate; a seeding material is chosen which normally includes silver iodide, dry ice or salt. The most commonly used seeding material is silver iodide.
Seeding Method:
The seeding material is dispersed into the cloud via planes, missiles or surface generators. Which typically comes in a powdered or liquid form that has been spread in small amounts.
Nucleation:
The seeder, a nucleation process of condensation of water vapour on the seeder and formation of large drop size This process is referred to as "nucleation."
Aggregation:
This condensation event occurs many times, and the droplets gain weight with each repetition — too heavy to stay in the atmosphere.
Fall:
Precipitation is the process of droplets falling to the earth as rain or snow.
Horrific smog and fog are wreaking havoc on daily life, transportation and economic activities in Pakistan since the last few weeks. The toxic cocktail of pollution, crop burning, and climate change that clearly overlaps with state borders has left an impact on both environment and health that is debilitating in nature.
Smog Crisis:
Punjab govt has declared health emergency in Lahore & Multan districts, over two lakh people suffering from respiratory disease report to hospitals within a month. The AQI reading in Multan has already exceeded 2000 breaking the air pollution record.
Can Artificial Rain Be the
Answer to the Smog Crisis?
In addressing the smog issue, the Punjab government has effectively carried out experiments on artificial rain in various cities like Jhelum, Chakwal, Talagang, and Gujar Khan. But what precisely is artificial rain, and how does it function?
Artificial rain, also referred to as cloud seeding, entails introducing substances into clouds to boost precipitation. This process involves adding a catalyst, such as salt or silver iodide, to the clouds, which triggers the development of larger droplets, ultimately resulting in increased rainfall.
A Short History of
Man-Made Rain :
Artificial Rain has been a weapon of water scarcity, available for millions of years. U.S. chemist VincentSchaefer performed the first cloud seeding experiment in 1946 when he dropped dry ice into a freezing cloud to make it rain. Since then, China, India and the United States have deployed similar methods of inducing artificial rain to combat droughts, floods and even hurricanes.
Benefits of Artificial Rain
There are a few ways that artificial rain can help in the instance of smog:
Fuming off pollutions from atmosphere
Enhancing Air Quality and Visibility
Increasing productivity in agriculture
Facts on Artificial Rain That will Blow Your Mind!
Artificial rai͏n is helpful in controlling hailstorms an͏d fog as well.
China has successfully implemented weather modification in her defence of 80% success by at least functionalizing artificial tools to vacuum its dirty pollution in the sky.
Apart from these artificial rains have been employed in tameing wild fires in Arkansas, USA.
Obstacles and Prospects
Despite artificial rain technology showing great promise there stand hurdles to its widespread application like cost, its scalability and environmental considerations.
Having said that the potential opportunities of artificial rain makes it an area of development that has great enthusiasm.
Expert Views
George Santayana famous for such coined phrases as history repeats itself would be amused to the artificial rain trial performed in Pakistan which was termed by Director General, Pakistan Meteorological Department, GhulamRasul as functional with reference to smog and fog so that the nation can defend her soil from the very nuisance.
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