China May Turn to Cloud-Seeding Tech to Clear Pollution
In addition to adding 21 cities to its winter air pollution campaign, raising vehicle fuel standards, and scaling back operations at factories and other major emitters in recent months, the country may rely on a tech quick fix to reduce pollution ahead of te Olympics. It’s one that’s become increasingly common in recent years: cloud seeding. This practice—which so far has a spotty track record—involves shooting rockets filled with silver iodide into the sky to induce rainfall. This helps knock pollution particles down and clears the air. China’s experimentation with cloud seeding dates back at least to the 2008 Olympic Games and has become more refined since.
A paper published last month by Tsinghua University found cloud seeding tech was used ahead of the centenary celebration of the Communist Party’s founding in July. In that case, the researchers determined the simulated rain may have helped reduce the amount of PM2.5 by more than two-thirds. That translated to enough to move air standards from good to moderate on the World Health Organization’s air rating system.
