Seeding clouds: China battles extreme heat and drought

Some parts of Asia apparently face desertification processes, as we have already reported here 2 months ago, in an article by Geophysical Research Letters. For now, in an extreme heat wave, China issues the first national drought alert and struggles to save crops and energy shortages in areas dependent on hydroelectric sources. About 66 rivers in 34 counties in southwest Chongqing have dried up. And to further dramatize the situation, authorities began to "seed clouds". That's right, spraying clouds with silver iodide rushes and thus "stimulating rains". Click on the image to read an article from CNN about this and here an article from Reuters , including some pretty awesome pictures. On interesting atmospheric practices, in March 2021 we recommended an article titled "Dusting the upper atmosphere could help fight climate change" about a experimental study called SCoPEx being run by Harvard University in order to help researchers learn about solar geoengineering, through the emission of calcium carbonate in the stratosphere. See how studies are evolving here. And soon we will publish about aerial rivers, which "are sourced" over large forests, and represent an important engine in maintaining fresh water in lakes and rivers.