How effective is cloud seeding, and why isn’t this done more often in places with regular forest fires (like California) or in the last few weeks to help the situation in Australia?
In: Other
You need moisture in the atmosphere to seed the clouds.
Even if there was enough moisture in the atmosphere around the fires the technology is new and poorly understood. We don’t know what the long term ramifications of using it are (or even if there is any) and were unsure whether we would trigger any feedback loops or odd weather patterns. We could cause flooding or even worsen droughts in other regions
cloud seeding causes it to rain in cases where there is moisture in the air that simply needs particles for raindrops to form around. It won’t make rain where there is nothing and something like the area around a forest fire would be a place you’d never be at a lack for small particles in the air for raindrops to form around.
Cloud seeding can’t conjure rain out of nothing, only accelerate rain in clouds that were already going to do it anyways. As such, it’s pretty much useless for places like California or Australia where the reason you get the regular wildfires is a lack of rain that makes the land dry and easily combustible.
Basically it just affects the timing of rain from clouds that are going to rain anyway, so that it rains where you want it to, instead of later when they have moved to another area. At least in theory. China claims it works, others are more skeptical.
Latest Answers