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Cloud seeding is a kind of weather modification process by which the amount or type of precipitation is changed by dispersing substances (ex. Silver Iodide, potassium iodide or dry ice) into the air that serve as cloud condensation or ice nuclei. The water vapor crystallizes over these particles and fall as precipitation.
It was the American chemist Vincent Schaefer who discovered the principle of cloud seeding in July 1946 through a series of fortunate events. Based on his experiments and those of others, the united states military in 1960s started a project to modify hurricanes in the Atlantic basic by using cloud seeding, this project was codenamed ‘Stormfury’.
In India, cloud seeding operations were conducted during the years 1983, 1984–87,1993-94 by Tamil Nadu Govt. due to severe drought. In 2003 and 2004 Karnataka government also initiated cloud seeding.
Indian agriculture being rain dependent can reap the following benefits of cloud seeding :
1.Rain fed area accounts for around 57 percent.Cloud seeding technology can empower Indian agriculture to hedge its position against subdued monsoon. 2.The frequency of El-Nino has increased during last two decades which caused more dry spells in India.Cloud seeding could be a huge success in extreme El-Nino events. 3.It can help balancing flood and drought in windward and rain shadow regions of Western Ghats respectively. China has also been using the technique in rain-scarce provinces, particularly in its northern parts and most recently in Summer Olympics to block rain during the opening and closing ceremonies. 4.It could also halt the steady expansion of desert in India. 5.India can raise agricultural productivity as HYV and fertilizers produce better results with assured irrigation.
However, this technology is seemed to be fraught with environmental dangers such as:
1.Silver Iodide particles can cause incapacitation and residual injury to humans and mammals. It has been found to be highly toxic to fish, livestock and humans. 2.It can also give rise to algal bloom. 3.The technology seemed to have been a grave danger to protected species pygmy possum. 4.It may also lead to rain suppression, flooding and tornadoes. 5.Year-after-year use of cloud seeding may lead to an insidious, cumulative and irreversible effect especially when the same area is repeatedly seeded.
Cloud seeding is been seen as a promising technology in India. For example Maharashtra is keen to solve water problem of Vidarbha region using cloud seeding. However, there is a need for adequate research which takes care of short term and long term impacts of cloud seeding on ecology and climate regime. At the same time, sustainable water practices such as rain water harvesting, efficient irrigation techniques like drip irrigation etc. should be promoted.
By: Harman Sandhu ProfileResourcesReport error
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