Home>News Center>China
       
 

Weather project aims to moisten dry land
(China Daily by Liang Chao)
Updated: 2004-02-28 00:45

Facing persistent drought, the worst natural calamity for China's economy and ecosystem, the country is set to launch extensive weather modification operations to seek extra precipitation from water-droplet clouds.

"Large-scale weather modification operations, mostly cloud seeding and hail suppression using airplanes, aircraft guns and special rocket launchers, will be widely adopted to enhance precipitation in upstream areas of large reservoirs and cradles of major rivers," a leading weather official announced Friday.

"Cloud seeding or artificial rain-making, hail and fog-dispersing techniques will also be used to help improve ecosystem and control forest fires, secure freeway transportation and success of key social events like the Beijing 2008 Olympic games and the 2010 Shanghai World Expo," Qin Dahe, the top official at the China Meteorological Administration, said Friday during a national conference in Beijing aimed at co-ordinating such operation.

"The scope of China's weather modification is ranked as the first of its type in the world today with strong government financial backing," Qin said.

Last year, 413 million yuan (US$49 million) was injected into the operation.

In 2003 alone, more than 3,800 rocket launchers, about 7,000 antiaircraft guns and many airplanes were put into use for various weather modification operations to enhance precipitation in more than 1,800 counties throughout China. More than 35,000 people were involved.

Qin made it clear that, "in the years ahead, such operations will enable China to exploit more water resources from the sky to combat drought."

This was viewed by experts that attended the conference as "an important turning point" for the drought-relief and ecosystem improvement plan.

China's per capita water resources share is only about one-quarter of the world average.

The situation has been worsened by extensive drought.

"The country's annual shortage of water is up to 40 billion cubic metres today. Drought has, since 1990, hit about 27 million hectares of farmland or 20 per cent of the total each year, cut down grain output by 24 million tons or 4.7 of the country's total," according to E Jingping, vice-minister of water resources.

To mitigate the losses, a total of 4,231 artificial rain-making operations used airborne silver-iodide flame seeding devices to enhance precipitation in areas up to 3 million square kilometres between 1995 and 2003.

Cloud seeding over large areas was also done with thousands of antiaircraft guns and rockets that fired shells filled with catalysts like dry ice.

Such operations can enhance precipitation up to 24 per cent, according Mao Jietai, a leading expert working on national co-ordination of cloud seeding operations.

Such operations have led to 210 billion cubic metres of precipitation in many arid areas across China during the 1995-2003 period.

To date, hail dispersals using antiaircraft guns and rockets have been successfully introduced into China's 23 provinces and municipalities to help 410,000 square kilometres of drought-stricken area.

Over the past nine years, it was estimated that more than 34 billion yuan (US$4 billion) worth of potential hail damage was prevented by such operations.

Total funds earmarked by the central and local governments for such operation have amounted to 2.2 billion yuan (US$265 million) during the period.

 
  Today's Top News     Top China News
 

Office: Beijing watches Taiwan developments closely

 

   
 

State tightens farmland protection

 

   
 

Doctor starts 49-day fast to test TCM regimen

 

   
 

Fighting follows Afghan minister's killing

 

   
 

China values military ties with neighbors

 

   
 

Dads ask: 'Is this my child?'

 

   
  Three Gorges Dam Project sparks new relocation
   
  Long March III A chosen for lunar mission
   
  Education key to ending sex trade
   
  China values military ties with neighbors
   
  Going-west still a top development strategy
   
  Office: Beijing watches Taiwan developments closely
   
 
  Go to Another Section  
 
 
  Story Tools  
   
  News Talk  
  Are the Chen-Lu shootings a fabricated hoax or an amateurish bungling  
Advertisement
         
主站蜘蛛池模板: 亚洲AV综合色区无码一区| 可以看污的网站| 4480新热播影院| 天美麻豆蜜桃91制片厂| 国产91精品久久久久999| 手机看片在线精品观看| 日本乱妇bbwbbw| 健身私教弄了我好几次怎么办| 色综合久久88色综合天天| 国产无套露脸视频在线观看| 3d玉蒲团之极乐宝鉴| 天下第一社区视频welcome| 一级毛片在线完整观看| 日本zljzljzlj日本| 久久精品亚洲一区二区| 精品400部自拍视频在线播放| 国产一卡2卡3卡4卡网站免费 | 综合久久久久久中文字幕| 国产免费一区二区三区免费视频 | 午夜在线观看免费影院| 2022福利视频| 天下第一社区视频welcome| www性久久久com| 成av免费大片黄在线观看| 中文字幕伊人久久网| 日本www视频| 久久亚洲精品国产亚洲老地址| 日韩精品成人一区二区三区 | 国产精品久久久久久久久| 97精品人妻系列无码人妻| 天堂mv免费mv在线mv观看| xxxxx性欧美hd另类| 尤物网在线视频| 三上悠亚精品二区在线观看| 欧美a级v片不卡在线观看| 亚洲日产2021三区在线| 波多野结衣一区二区三区| 四虎国产精品永久在线看| 男女下面无遮挡一进一出| 国产视频2021| 中文字幕在线2021|