China develops “artificial rain” and reduces air pollution during event

According to Tsinghua University, silver iodide was used in the Beijing skies to produce artificial rain (Credit: Pexels)

In July of this year, China produced artificial rain shortly after the Communist Party’s Centennial celebrations. The feat reduced the amount of pollutants in the air, according to the South Morning China Post.

The technique used by the Chinese government has been known in the United States, since the 1970s, as cloud seeding, which consists of dispersing chemical compounds above the clouds to cause storms.

+Canada and UK join boycott of China Winter Games

According to the Tsinghua University study, in the case of China, silver iodide was used in the Beijing skies to produce artificial rain. The experiment reduced the amount of fine particulate pollutants by about two-thirds, shifting the air quality to the “good” level.

Start of Studies

The Chinese government has been trying to create artificial rain, at least since 2008, when Beijing hosted the Olympic Games. The objective of these researches is to combat the high levels of pollution in the country, mainly in industrial regions.

The expectation is that China will increase investments in studies, since by 2025 the country intends to reserve 14.24 million square kilometers (km²) for tests in its territory, according to a survey by the South Morning China Post.