The Olympics: Beijing Prepares For War With The Rain Gods

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It’s the Olympics. Modern day’s gladiatorial arena. Come August and athletes from around the world will battle it out less for the gold, silver and bronze disc and more for the million dollars endorsements which follow an Olympic podium finish. Its war by another name. And China is getting ready its arsenal of rockets and aircrafts. Heck no, they are not taking it too far. It is just a plan to keep the rains at bay and ensure that the Olympic opening ceremony passes off without rain and everyone gets home dry. August 8 is O-Day and officials say that their is a 47 per cent chance of rain and 6 per cent that its going to pour cats and dogs if not anti-China slogans. To ensure that the opening ceremony does not get held up because of the rains, China has prepared contingency plans to disperse approaching rain clouds by firing silver iodide filled projectiles. According to the plan, 100 staff at 21 stations surrounding the city will have 10 minutes window to blast away at the clouds so that they can be dispersed before they come near the stadium. Three aircrafts will also be on stand-by to drop catalysts on the clouds. Wang Yubin, the deputy chief of China's meteorological service said,

” We’ve worked with neighboring provinces on a contingency plan for rainstorm and other weather risks during the ceremonies."

However, weather experts in China say that their plan will only be effective against light rain and not against a heavy downpour. So far, the forecast predictions are for a light drizzle.

China is preparing for the Olympics in right earnest and it seems that they are determined to make this a showcase event for this emerging powerhouse of the world economy. Practice runs will begin in June and July and with $500,000 already spent on the cloud seeding emergency program, the intent to defeat the rain gods seems very clear.

The heavy weapons are used to launch pellets containing silver iodide into clouds. Silver iodide is thought to concentrate moisture and cause rain. The process is known as cloud seeding. A rainstorm happens after moisture collects around particles in the air, causing it to reach a level of saturation at which point it can no longer hold in that moisture. Cloud seeding essentially helps that process along, providing "nuclei" around which water condenses. These nuclei can be salts, calcium chloride, dry ice or silver iodide, which the Chinese are using. Silver iodide is used because its form is similar to ice crystals.

Cloud seeding is not new in China. China is a large country and has been a predominantly agrarian economy needing large reservoirs of water. Even a mega-polis like Beijing needs rain to clear away the pollution and smog. Weather modification practices began in China in 1958. China has trained thousands to handle anti aircraft guns which launch silver iodide bullets at the clouds in order to precipitate rain. The latest Beijing plan is just an offshoot of those practices. Now, August 8 will show how the 'war' games pan out.