China boosts use of cloud seeding to combat droughts

China stepped up cloud seeding in the face of severe drought.

The country’s grain-growing regions in the north have been parched for months, leading to concerns over the harvest.

Though some scientists are skeptical over cloud seeding’s effectiveness and environmental impact, several countries have begun deploying it: China is already the world’s leading user of weather modification, firing chemical compounds into clouds to spark precipitation, and has conducted 20% more than by this time last year, Xinhua reported, apparently causing a one-third increase in rainfall.

As well as agriculture and drinking water, much of China is reliant on hydropower for electricity: Sichuan, in the southwest, gets 80% of its power from dams, meaning that droughts can lead to electricity shortages.