That’s one way to combat a drought

A new Toto remake is about to hit the airwaves, and it’s called “I Bless the Rains Down in China.” According to reports published yesterday, Chinese authorities have begun attempting to induce rainfall via cloud seeding in some regions of the country to combat a severe drought and record-breaking heatwave.

So yes – it would be accurate to say China is making it rain.

☝️ First things first… Cloud seeding is a weather modification technique first invented in the 1940s. It aims to improve a cloud’s ability to produce rain or snow by introducing specific tiny particles, like silver iodide, that provide a base for snowflakes to form.

• China is no stranger to the practice, having used it during the Beijing Olympics in 2008 to ensure dry weather around its stadiums by flushing out rain from any approaching clouds.
• This go-round, officials are cloud seeding in response to an ongoing 64-day heatwave that’s the longest and strongest since China first began keeping records in 1961, and is expected to last through the end of the month. Asia’s longest waterway, the Yangtze River, is also sitting at record-low levels.

🌧️🌎 Zoom out: More than 50 countries employ cloud seeding or other weather modification tech at the moment, most to deal with rainfall or water scarcity-related issues in their various dry regions.

✋ ​Yes, but… Despite decades of the technique being mainstream, scientists are still unclear how much – if any – extra precipitation it generates, as the chaotic nature of weather makes controlled, natural experiments virtually impossible.