Artificial rainfall to conquer nature? Despite the benefits, man cannot do as he pleases

Guangdong's little ones should be depressed these two days. The weather has been good, not too cold, not too hot, no wind or rain, even the temperature is close to summer. I thought we would have a sunny and warm year. But to my surprise, the weather forecast suddenly said that there would be moderate to heavy rain in the next two days. As expected, God's face changed as he said. (There is my summary of the article's highlights at the end of the article. If you are in a hurry, you can skip straight to the end to read the summary.)

The weather forecast came out a week ago. At the time, I was thinking that it might not be that accurate. After all, the weather has been good. But the event was inevitable. From all accounts, we all know that the rain was government-led. With over a hundred rain bombs, the government invited this "long drought to come".

However, it seems that most people do not understand the government's actions. Many people complained online, including those who ruined their travel plans, those who said there was nothing they could do about the tanning and those who work in sanitation. Indeed, the "sudden" rainstorm at the end of the year affected people's lives, but people only knew one thing (that the government could do artificial rainfall) but not another (why it was needed). This eventually leads to misunderstanding.

The popularisation of science is imperative. Please listen to things related to artificial rainfall and express your opinion after you have a good understanding of it. Don't vent your undeserved emotions in confusion.

So what exactly is artificial rainfall? Artificial rainfall, also known as artificial rainfall, is the process of artificially supplementing some of the conditions necessary for precipitation formation according to the principles of precipitation formation in nature, to facilitate the rapid condensation or collision of cloud droplets, which increase into raindrops and land on the ground.

From this definition, we know that to make artificial rainfall, certain rainfall conditions need to be in place. Otherwise, humans could not create rain out of thin air. Humans simply give rain that cannot fall a chance to land and catalyse the process of rain. So the choice of artificial rainfall at this time is not the choice of the government, but the conditions for artificial rainfall are formed in these two days.

Artificial rainfall is not limited to one method. The physical characteristics of different clouds have to be taken into account, and also the timing has to be chosen. There are two main methods, one being warm clouds. Warm clouds are clouds with temperatures above zero degrees, and hygroscopic particles such as salt powder and urea are used to promote the production of large cloud droplets, which lead to the formation or increase of precipitation. The other type of cloud is a cold cloud, a cold cloud, indicating that the temperature of the cloud is below zero. Catalysts such as dry ice and silver iodide need to be seeded by aircraft, thereby producing large numbers of ice crystals and increasing the density of ice crystals in the upper part of the cold cloud, contributing to or increasing precipitation.

In terms of form, there are three main types. The first is the firing of anti-aircraft guns or rockets. In this form, shells loaded with catalysts can be dropped at the desired location at the right time, depending on the dose required, thus enabling artificial rainfall. However, this form is less mobile and is generally carried out over a wider area. This form is also most commonly used in Guangdong.

Secondly, aircraft are used to scatter catalysts at high altitudes or load shells to be fired in the air. Aircraft are highly manoeuvrable and can also carry a variety of equipment to monitor the weather at all times. However, not all cloud conditions are suitable for this form, and the cost of using aircraft is relatively high.

The last is the least used form, and can only be used in mountainous areas where the terrain is cloudy and inaccessible. This means that a silver iodide burner is arranged on the ground from the mountainous areas to the sunny slopes and is transported into the clouds by the updrafts that occur frequently over a certain period. This method is economical and simple, but it is difficult to determine the dose of catalyst entering the clouds.

Another thing that surprises everyone is that artificial rainfall is very expensive. A typical catalytic shell costs several thousand dollars and the gun mount to launch the rocket costs around $400,000. Because rockets and other shells are arms, there are separate charges for transport, escort and storage. Then there are all those planes, labour, etc. All incur costs. In addition to these costs, there is a huge amount of manpower costs. It takes a lot of manpower to analyse clouds, to analyse rainfall, before and after artificial rainfall. So every artificial rainfall is carefully prepared and considered, not just random.

Now that we know what artificial rainfall is all about, let's take a look at what the benefits of artificial rainfall are and why it is needed. I can assure you that it is not something that humans do to conquer nature.)

I don't know if you've noticed, but it rarely rains in the second half of 2020. Of course, most people are happy without rain. People don't like the wind and the rain. But it's not the same for people in the farming industry. They are sad to face this situation. Without rain, drought sets in. Of course, this drought does not mean that there is no water available, but that the crops are thirsty for water. In this case, artificial rainfall to combat the drought becomes very necessary. This artificial rainfall in Guangdong has been supported by many farmers.

The dry autumn and winter seasons lead to hill fires, which are heard of from time to time. When flames are carried by the wind, they catch fire and persist because they are dry. This only stops when there is no combustible material, so it is more difficult to extinguish the fire. If artificial rainfall moistens the hills a little, hill fires are less likely to occur, and if they do, they are easier to control.

Artificial rainfall also helps reservoirs store water and generate hydroelectricity. In the face of prolonged hazy weather, artificial rainfall can also help to purify the air. So the benefits of artificial rainfall are still numerous.

The ritual of asking for rain has been practised since ancient times. In ancient times, when crops were the mainstay, the importance of rain was self-evident. But how could the ancients perform artificial rainfall as people do nowadays? There were many cases of paying money and then not asking for rain. Don't think they were ridiculous, it was a hope for life. Even today humans cannot summon rain and wind out of thin air. Every artificial rainfall is the result of deliberate and costly efforts and should not end in being complained about. Please understand before you make a decision!

My summary of the main points:

1. Artificial rainfall, also known as artificial rainfall augmentation, is the process of artificially supplementing some of the necessary conditions for precipitation formation according to the principles of natural precipitation formation to promote rapid condensation or collision of cloud droplets, increasing them into raindrops and landing on the ground.

2. The method of artificial rainfall is not limited to one. The physical characteristics of different clouds have to be taken into account, and the timing has to be chosen. There are two main methods, one is warm clouds. The other is cold clouds.

3. Warm clouds are when the temperature of the cloud is above freezing, and hygroscopic particles such as salt powder and urea are used to promote the production of large cloud droplets, leading to the formation or increase of precipitation. Cold clouds are when the cloud temperature is below freezing and require the use of aircraft to broadcast dry ice, silver iodide and other catalysts, thereby producing large numbers of ice crystals and increasing the density of ice crystals in the upper part of the cold cloud, contributing to or increasing precipitation.

4. In terms of form, there are three main types. The first is the firing of anti-aircraft guns or rockets. The second is the use of aircraft to scatter catalysts at high altitudes or load shells to be fired from the air. Finally, silver iodide burners are placed on the ground in the mountainous areas facing the sunny slopes and are delivered to the clouds by the common updrafts over a certain period.

Artificial rainfall is very expensive. Every artificial rainfall is carefully prepared and considered, not random.

6. Artificial rainfall can combat drought and also help reservoirs to store water and generate hydroelectricity. In the face of prolonged hazy weather, artificial rainfall can also help purify the air.