China can now
cover one third of its territory with artificial rain, the China
Meteorological Administration (CMA) said on Thursday.
Wang Bangzhong, a senior CMA official, said China can produce
rain over an area of three million square kilometers. Work to
prevent the occurrence of hailstones covers about 500,000 square
kilometers of land.
Silver-iodide shells can be fired into the air by planes,
rockets and canons, Wang said, adding that China has more than
7,000 canons and more than 5,000 rocket launchers for the
purpose.
China now ranks the world leader in terms of the frequency it
manipulates the weather. Statistics show that the country has used
artificial means to change the weather in 31 provinces in order to
ease droughts, extinguish forest fires and increase water reserves
in reservoirs.
(Xinhua News Agency July 27, 2007)
