China plans to build a 1.6 million square km rain-making network

Beijing. March 30. Silkroadnews - China is aiming to solve the problem of water shortage by building a high-tech rain-making network of 1.6 million square kilometers, the Australian news portal 9 News reports.
Scientists plan to use military technology to create a vast network of fuel-burning chambers located high up in the Tibetan mountains.
If successful, the ambitious project is expected to increase the amount of precipitation in the region by as much as 10 billion cubic meters per year or about 7% of China’s water consumption.
Achieving this goal involves the construction of tens of thousands of chambers at an altitude of 5000 m above the Tibetan plateau in an area of 1.6 million square kilometers.
When burning solid fuel in the chambers, silver iodide crystals are formed. Another key component is the wind containing water vapor from the Indian monsoon. When reaches the Tibetan plateau, it would then sweep the particles of silver iodide into the clouds to stimulate precipitation in form of rain and snow.
According to the project participants, the experiment involving 500 chambers had showed “very promising results.”
“Sometimes snow would start falling almost immediately after we ignited the chamber. It was like standing on the stage of a magic show,” the agency quoted saying by one of them.
The project is backed by China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation.
Scientists from the state-owned company used rocket engines in chambers, enabling them to burn solid fuels in high-altitude oxygen-scarce areas.
The project is another form of clouds seeding - artificial increase of moisture in the clouds to stimulate the rainfall.
Although similar projects are being implemented in countries such as the United States and the United Arab Emirates, where airplanes and unmanned aerial vehicles are used, nothing compares to China’s large-scale grandiose Tibetan plan.
However, the project may cause a risk of regional tension.
The massive glaciers on the Tibetan plateau make it one of the biggest water reserves in Asia, feeding rivers such as the Yangtze, Mekong and the Yellow River.
These river systems flow not only China, but also India, Laos, Myanmar and Nepal, providing water to millions of people.