
Top 10 Cloud Seeding Pros & Cons – Summary List
Cloud Seeding Pros | Cloud Seeding Cons |
Cloud seeding can increase crop yields | Cloud seeding can be costly |
Can help to reduce global hunger | Weather modification may be risky |
Cloud seeding can help to reduce poverty | Can lead to air pollution |
Cloud seeding can be applied locally | Cloud seeding can contribute to acid rai ... |
- Create more winter snowfall and lead to more mountain snowpack.
- Enhance the natural water supply to communities.
- Lessen hailstorms by reordering water vapor in clouds, which breaks down large hailstones.
What are the pros and cons of cloud seeding?
What are the pros and cons of cloud seeding?
- It creates rain, providing relief to drought-stricken areas. Of course, this is the best advantage of cloud seeding as it is its main purpose after all. ...
- It makes a place more hospitable. Due to extreme heat, some parts of the world have become dry, even making them unsuitable to live in or visit. ...
- It would allow for economic growth. ...
What are the positive effects of cloud seeding?
History of cloud seeding
- Asia. The largest cloud seeding system is in the People's Republic of China. ...
- Iran. The Aerospace Force of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps has used unmanned aerial vehicles to seed clouds in 10 Iranian provinces.
- Israel. ...
- Kuwait. ...
- United Arab Emirates. ...
- Southeast Asia. ...
- North America. ...
- Australia. ...
- Africa. ...
Is cloud seeding good or bad and why?
The increase in precipitation, however, may be good in one area, but can have an adverse effect in another. While cloud seeding can alleviate drought, it has its share of pros and cons as well. 1. Increase Precipitation Areas that are in dire need of water will certainly benefit from cloud seeding. It is designed to create rain, after all.
What are the harms of cloud seeding?
List of the Advantages of Cloud Seeding
- There are three primary methods of cloud seeding that we can use. ...
- The efforts at cloud seeding can help to produce more precipitation. ...
- Cloud seeding can make the land more suitable for living. ...
- This work helps to regulate weather patterns in specific locations. ...
- Economic improvements occur because of cloud seeding. ...

What is the benefit of cloud seeding?
In the United States, cloud seeding is used to increase precipitation in areas experiencing drought, to reduce the size of hailstones that form in thunderstorms, and to reduce the amount of fog in and around airports.
What are the benefits of cloud seeding in UAE?
They use weather radar to continuously monitor the atmosphere of the country. Forecasters and scientists have estimated that cloud seeding operations can enhance rainfall by as much as 30-35% percent in a clear atmosphere, and up to 10-15% in a more humid atmosphere.
Is cloud seeding a good idea?
“Cloud seeding is something people consider in areas where they're desperate for water,” she says. But cloud seeding should not be thought of as a response to drought, experts agree. For one, in a drought there are likely to be fewer seed-able storms.
How is cloud seeding harmful?
Does Cloud Seeding Have an Impact on Health and the Environment? So far, experts haven't found any harmful effects of cloud seeding with silver iodide on the environment. The concentration of silver in a storm from cloud seeding is far below the accepted limit of 50 micrograms per liter.
Who invented cloud seeding?
Vincent J. SchaeferVincent J. Schaefer, a self-taught chemist who invented cloud "seeding" and created the first artificially induced snow and rainfall, died on Sunday at a hospital in Schenectady, N.Y.
What is cloud seeding pros and cons?
Top 10 Cloud Seeding Pros & Cons – Summary ListCloud Seeding ProsCloud Seeding ConsCloud seeding can help to reduce povertyCan lead to air pollutionCloud seeding can be applied locallyCloud seeding can contribute to acid rainEspecially helpful in dry regionsSoil pollution related to cloud seeding7 more rows
Why don't they cloud seed in California?
0:021:27Why doesn't California utilize cloud seeding? | Why Guy - YouTubeYouTubeStart of suggested clipEnd of suggested clipYou have to have dark clouds. Already cloud seeding just gives the clouds a final push to deliverMoreYou have to have dark clouds. Already cloud seeding just gives the clouds a final push to deliver rain.
What does silver iodide do to the human body?
Chronic: Chronic inhalation or ingestion of silver salts may cause argyria characterized by a permanent blue-gray discoloration of the eyes, skin, mucous membranes, and internal organs. This malady results from the accumulation of silver in the body.
Why is cloud seeding used?
Cloud seeding is used all over the world as a method for enhancing winter snowfall and increasing mountain snowpack, supplementing the natural water supply available to communities of the surrounding area.
How does cloud seeding work?
Cloud seeding is a weather modification technique that improves a cloud’s ability to produce rain or snow by artificially adding condensation nuclei to the atmosphere, providing a base for for snowflakes or raindrops to form.
Why can't I seed a cloud?
During dry winters when storm systems are absent for long periods, cloud seeding cannot occur, because cloud seeding requires the presence of moisture-filled clouds. DRI’s team of experts includes meteorologists who monitor the weather throughout the season for appropriate cloud seeding conditions.
When is the DRI cloud seeding season?
DRI’s cloud seeding operation generally runs during the winter season of November to May, when storm systems are actively moving through our project areas.
What are clouds made of?
Clouds are made up of tiny water droplets or ice crystals that form when water vapor in the atmosphere cools and condenses around a particle of dust or salt. Without these particles, known as condensation nuclei, raindrops or snowflakes cannot form and precipitation will not occur. Cloud seeding is a weather modification technique ...
What is cloud seeding?
Cloud seeding is the process of adding chemicals — like dry ice, silver iodide, etc. — to clouds to increase rainfall. Typically, these chemicals are shot or released into the sky by machines or small jets.
What will happen if we continue to have droughts?
For starters, health will decline and disease susceptibility will increase as more individuals lose access to clean drinking water and proper sanitation.
What is cloud seeding?
Cloud seeding is a process that utilizes chemicals that are freed into the environment to amplify the water amount in the air in order to create a fog or precipitation and hail. These chemicals usually consist of Silver Iodide Potassium Iodide and dry ice and they are usually found in regions with a lot of mountains.
Why is cloud seeding more compound than static?
Static cloud seeding introduces silver iodide into the clouds in order to create a medium for the moisture to condense, dynamic cloud seeding is more compound than static as it aims to enhance vertical air currents and make more moisture to be produced by the clouds.
How to improve rainfall quantity?
1. Rain Creation. In the event that the amount of rain experienced in an area is inadequate, cloud seeding is the best way to consider to improve rainfall quantity . In many areas where precipitation hardly comes by, silver iodide can be introduced to induce rain formation.
Why is rain important?
Rain is important in achieving a proper harvest. With the right amount of rain, the local economy will benefit financially and there will be enough food to feed both the people and animals. Cloud seeding is also used in the betterment of living standards in an area with poor or dry climates.
What is the last one of the cloud seeding?
The last one is hygroscopic cloud seeding, which introduces salts to the clouds at the base in blazes so that they can lead to high precipitation when water starts pouring from the clouds above them. 7. Use of ground-based machines.
Where are cloud seeding chemicals found?
The chemicals produced during cloud seeding are present in the water and soil deposits of the area where it has been practiced. The more animals and plants are exposed to it, the more they are at risk of developing health issues.
Is cloud seeding bad for the environment?
Some weather conditions could be dangerous to the environment if not properly managed. Cloud seeding provides an avenue for controlling prevailing weather conditions in different areas, although it is primarily used to improve the amount of rain; it can also limit precipitation which could develop into storms that cause mass destruction.
What are the pros and cons of cloud seeding?
1. The main positive outcome of cloud seeding is the fact that it can possibly create rain within areas that are in dire need of water. 2. The result of cloud seeding itself has a number of advantages of its own. 3.
What is cloud seeding?
Cloud seeding is one of the scientific techniques that some researchers are utilizing in order to resolve the drought problem. Cloud seeding is a known procedure, which utilizes a chemical dispersed into the sky in order to produce rain clouds. This procedure has a lot of advantages and disadvantages. Lots of people look into understanding the ...
What is the chemical used to seed clouds?
The process of cloud seeding begins with the chemical. Usually, the chemical is known as silver iodine. This chemical contains a crystal structure, which is the same with water ice.
Is cloud seeding bad for animals?
A lot of possible drawbacks also exist with cloud seeding. Since the process of cloud seeding needs the placement of chemicals into the air, this will obviously concern the animals and plants that are affected below.
Can cloud seeding cause flooding?
Lastly, management of the rainfall amount is another issue since cloud seeding can possibly result to flooding in several areas. With the possible cloud seeding pros and cons, you may decide your stand on whether or not it is good for use.
What is cloud seeding?
Cloud seeding is an artificial way of producing moisture in the clouds to make rain. It is a form of weather alteration. Just like a farmer sowing seeds in the field, which later grow to crops, in cloud seeding, the clouds are filled with ‘seeds’ to next fall as rain. The seeds are nothing but the silver iodide, potassium iodide, and dry ice.
Why did the Department of Defense seed clouds?
The goal of the program was to deny the use of this significant supply route by flooding it. The most extensive cloud seeding system in the world is China.
Which country has the most cloud seeding?
The most extensive cloud seeding system in the world is China. China produces 55 billion tons of artificial rain per year. And it intends to quintuple that. China used cloud seeding in Beijing just before the 2008 Olympics, to clear air pollution.
How do clouds form?
Clouds form from the condensation of hidden water vapor on nuclei from dirt, pollen, and salt from ocean splash. Cloud seeding improves the amount of these possible nuclei. Rain-drops or ice-crystals might not complete without these added nuclei.
What are the advantages of cloud seeding?
Advantages of Cloud Seeding. Cloud seeding can help to increase the amount of rain. Especially helpful in hot and dry regions of our planet. Cloud seeding can be used in a rather spontaneous manner. Can be applied in a rather local fashion. May help to optimize crop yields.
How does cloud seeding improve life?
In turn, people will have more energy to work hard and to further improve their overall living conditions.
What is cloud seeding?
Cloud seeding aims to alter precipitation in certain regions. This also implies that cloud seeding can be applied in a rather local manner, meaning that this concept can be used to get rain in a specific region while there will be no rain just a few miles away, at least if this technique is applied in a proper manner.
Why is cloud seeding important?
Cloud seeding can help to prevent extreme weather conditions. Cloud seeding is not only useful to increase precipitation in certain regions, but it can also help to reduce the risks for serious weather conditions. In fact, studies have shown that cloud seeding can reduce the risk of extreme storms in a region.
Why do farmers use cloud seeding?
Since farmers can use cloud seeding whenever they need increasing levels of precipitation for their plants, those plants will be supplied with water in an optimal manner and can also grow much better compared to a state where those plants would be exposed to serious droughts.
What happens when chemicals are injected into clouds?
Part of the chemicals that are injected into clouds will also contaminate the air and winds may spread those chemicals over quite long distances. In turn, people living in those regions may suffer from rather poor air quality and significant air pollution related to cloud seeding.
Does cloud seeding cause water pollution?
Can contribute to water pollution. Another disadvantage of cloud seeding is that it can also contribute to significant water pollution . Since the harmful chemicals that are used in cloud seeding will come down with rain, rivers and lakes will also become contaminated with those substances.
Why are cloud seedings important?
2. It creates biomes with more fertility.
What is cloud seeding?
Cloud seeding is a process which modifies weather patterns. When performed correctly, it can change the amount of precipitation that falls on a specific area. It can even change the type of precipitation that falls. For this process to work correctly, dry ice, potassium iodide, or silver iodide, is distributed into a network ...
Why are cloud seeding processes not used?
Through cloud seeding processes, areas that are not used because they are so arid could become useable for farming or establishing homesteads. That means benefits to local economies, more access to agricultural products, and potentially higher wages. 3. It could regulate severe weather conditions.
Why do we need aircraft for cloud seeding?
The primary benefit of cloud seeding is that it creates the possibility of stabilizing precipitation levels around the world.
How much does cloud seeding cost?
It is a costly process. According to information provided by the Smithsonian, a cloud seeding program could cost up to $214 per acre-foot of water in a low-cost scenario. For a high-cost scenario, cloud seeding could be as much as $427 per acre-foot of water.
Does cloud seeding increase precipitation?
Cloud seeding efforts may be able to provide more precipitation or alter how it falls in specific circumstances, but there is no evidence available to suggest that this process is able to increase precipitation levels in a consistent manner. Here are some more of the key points to think about when looking at the overall cloud seeding pros and cons.
Can cloud seeding cause skin discoloration?
When it is inhaled, it can permanently discolor the skin as well. 2. It could create negative weather effects. Although cloud seeding could be used to positively alter weather patterns, there may be unintended consequences that occur as well. When one weather pattern changes, another typically changes as well.
