Weather & Climate Modification News - 8 to 15 January 2024
Featuring: Iran, Uganda, UAE, Panama, Pakistan, Canada, Saudi Arabia, Indonesia, Malaysia, India, China, Zimbabwe , Australia - Snowy Hydro, Thailand and USA (Arizona, California, NOAA)
Sources are posted at the end of this report.
UAE - ongoing
Source reliability : 100%
The Khaleej Times reports on the 5th of January "the continuation of cloud-seeding operations in 2024."
Panama - active
Source reliability : 100%
The Indian based 'Logistics Insider' reports on the 5th of January that the Panama Canal Company is partnering with the USA's North Dakota based 'Weather Modification inc.' who is currently carrying out weather modification 'experiments' in the region for reservoir filling purposes.
Pakistan - proposed (2nd round)
Source reliability : 100%
'The Nation' newspaper in Pakistan stated on the 5th of January that "Lahore likely to get another spell of artificial rain to reduce smog." This is being proposed, in partnership with the UAE, after initial activity at the end of 2023.
The Portuguese news outlet 'The Portugal News' along with other news outlets are incorrectly stating on the 6th of January "In the first experiment of its kind in the South Asian country, planes equipped with cloud seeding mechanisms flew over 10 areas of the city."
It is not the first time weather modification has been carried out in Pakistan. It was first on the agenda in 2017 and in December 2021 'The International News' based in Pakistan reported that "The initial results of an ongoing study revealed that the use of artificial rains to reduce smog can cause uncontrolled flooding in urban areas of the Punjab province."
The article came with a stark warning via Turkey: "When cloud seeding is done it brings artificial rain but there is no scientific procedure available that can stop this rain. If it never stops then it can cause flooding and create disastrous situations. The initial evaluation also pointed out the experience of Turkey that has recently used artificial rains to control fast-spreading forest fires.
The ministry made contact with the Turkey government officials and asked them to share their experiences. The information revealed that when the Turkey government carried out cloud seeding it brought rains but it had no capacity to stop them due to which many parts of the country faced heavy floods. Three people died due to forest fires in Turkey but ten died because of floods caused by the artificial rains."
USA - Federal Request; Weather Modification Activity Reports
Source reliability : 100%
The USA Federal government register has a request, starting on the 8th of January, by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) for "Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for Review and Approval; Comment Request; Weather Modification Activities Reports." The request is open until 8 March 2024.
"The National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration's Office of Atmospheric Research (OAR)/Weather Program Office is conducting this information collection pursuant to section 6(b) of Public Law 92–205. This law requires that all non-federal weather modification activities (e.g. cloud seeding) in the United States (U.S.) and its territories be reported to the Secretary of Commerce through NOAA. This reporting is critical for gauging the scope of these activities, for determining the possibility of duplicative operations or of interference with another project, for providing a database for checking atmospheric changes against the reported activities, and for providing a single source of information on the safety and environmental factors used in weather modification activities in the U.S. Two forms are collected under this OMB Control Number: one prior to and one after the activity. The requirements are detailed in 15 CFR part 908. This data is used for scientific research, historical statistics, international reports and other purposes."
California, USA - active
Source reliability : 100%
The 'LA Times' reports on the 13th of January that a "New 4-year cloud-seeding pilot program hopes to make it rain in Santa Ana River watershed", stating further that the project "Started in November as a four-year pilot under the Santa Ana Watershed Project Authority — a joint powers authority comprising five public agencies, including Orange County Water District and others in the Inland Empire, San Bernardino and Riverside — the project aims to increase precipitation levels anywhere from 5% to 15%."
Arizona, USA - petition
Source reliability : 100%
The 'Change' petition website has a petition to ban Stratospheric Aerosol Injection / Geo-Engineering which was started on the 5th of January and has 394 signatures by 15 January.
Climate Modification - Canada
Source reliability : 0%
AFP Fact Check is a department within Agence France-Presse (AFP) and along with other MSM outlets, over the years, they are claiming, on the 5th of January, that "Stratospheric aerosol injections not 'root cause' of global warming" whilst further stating "Scientists in Canada and elsewhere are studying the use of a technique called stratospheric aerosol injections to reverse the impact of climate change, but social media posts claim this has led to global warming. This is false; the geoengineering technology that uses sulphur dioxide is being researched as a potential way to cool Earth, but experts say it has not been deployed on a large scale."
Juan Moreno-Cruz, the Canada research chair for energy transitions at the University of Waterloo, said that "while there is interest in SAIs and other geoengineering techniques, researchers have not deployed them on a large scale."
Here is the 'disinformation' give-away, "He said a handful of small experiments have taken place, which are not thought to have affected the global climate." The key-word in that statement is 'thought'. There is a huge difference between thinking something and knowing something.
Uganda - expected
Source reliability : 100%
The 'Uganda Radio Network' published an article announcing plans to carry out weather modification activities in October 2024. The planned October project follows tests carried out in December 2023 by Khoi Khoi, a former Mabrara University of Science and Technology Scientist. The project is partnered with the 'South Korean University'.
Skeptics have expressed fear that it could lead to more disasters including widespread floods. Khoi said "despite the successful use of cloud seeding, researchers are yet to determine the optimal amount of ice nuclei to be released into the atmosphere." Furthermore, the seeded cloud can act like a magnet, attracting clouds from other regions, which may then receive inadequate rainfall. Khoi stated further "I wish the Ugandan government and all organizations should come out and support us in this cause."
Malaysia - postponed
Source reliability : 100%
The 'New Straits Times' of Malaysia reports on the 6th of January that "as of now, the state government does not plan to request cloud seeding operations due to the reduction in the water level at the Air Itam Reservoir because it has not reached a critical level."
India - delayed
Source reliability : 100%
India's 'Free Press Journal' reported on 7 January that "Mumbai's Improved Air Quality Index Delays BMC's Cloud Seeding Plans." A senior civic official stated, "As a precautionary measure, we are keeping the option of cloud seeding open."
Iran - investigating
Source reliability : 100%
The 'Tehran Times' reported on the 8th of January that, "West Asia’s water crisis deepens through cloud wars." The article gives more detail, "Some rumours were spread surrounding the existence of anti-hail devices near Mount Sabalan whose primary purpose is to convert hail within clouds into rain, safeguarding crops in the area from potential damage. Addressing the issue, the director general of Ardabil province’s Meteorology Department, Majid Kohi, stated that there is no scientific evidence to support the ability of these devices to disperse clouds or inhibit rainfall. However, a report from IRNA news agency in 2021 featured the head of the Maragheh Environmental Protection Department, Gholamreza Zare, who highlighted the potential impact of anti-hail devices on local rainfall."
Indonesia - ongoing
Source reliability : 100%
The Indonesian News Agency 'Antara' reported on 2nd January that "Weather modification technology will be applied to overcome the massive flooding that struck the capital, Jakarta, and its surround areas, Head of the National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) Doni Monardo confirmed on Thursday. "We had discussed weather modification, which has been prepared today and will be applied this evening," Monardo said, adding that BNPB will perform this along with the Agency for the Assessment and Application of Technology (BPPT) and National Armed Forces (TNI)."
Climate Modification - China
Source reliability : 100%
China has claimed that by 2025 it will have full control of its weather systems via its weather modification projects. A recent academic paper titled: 'Projected future changes in extreme precipitation over China under stratospheric aerosol intervention' by; Ou Wang, Ju Liang, Yuchen Gu, Jim M. Haywood, Ying Chen, Chenwei Fang, and Qingeng Wang, released on the 9th of January states "The simulated SAI deployment is compared with simulations of the future climate under two different emission scenarios (SSP5-8.5 and SSP2-4.5) and reduction in the solar constant (G6solar) to understand the effect of SAI on extreme precipitation patterns. The results show that, under future global warming scenarios, precipitation and extreme wet climate events are projected to increase by 2100 relative to the present day across all the sub-regions in China."
Zimbabwe - activated
Source reliability : 100%
'The Herald' reported in an article authored by Talent Chimutambgi and Precious Manomano on the 9th of January that the government has launched this years weather modification strategy. The activity was launched in Harare and Bulawayo on the 8th of January. It is being done by the Meteorological Services Department and the Central Air Transport Services.
'The Chronicle' correspondent Nqobile Tshili, reports that it will cost US-$ 400,000- and that it is being done to mitigate El-Nino effects.
Australia - Snowy Hydro Report
Source reliability : 100%
The 'New South Wales government office has released a "2022 Annual Compliance Report: Snowy Hydro Limited Cloud Seeding Program"
The EPA has reviewed SHL’s annual compliance report for the 2022 cloud seeding season and has found that: The compliance report was submitted to the relevant Ministers and the EPA by the due date, The SHL has complied with all of its obligations as detailed in the Act and that SHL complied with all its obligations in the Environment Management Plan.
"Snowy Hydro Limited (SHL) has been conducting a winter cloud seeding trial in the NSW Snowy Mountains area since 2004. On 31 May 2013 amendments to the Snowy Mountains Cloud Seeding Act 2004 (the Act) came into effect enabling SHL to conduct permanent cloud seeding operations within an expanded area of the Snowy Mountains, in accordance with an Environmental Management Plan approved by relevant Ministers."
There were two minor incidents which resulted in the spillage of antifreeze and effluent onto the road in October 2022 and a spill of a small quantity of silver iodide from a generator trailer in October 2022. No material harm occurred during either incident and corrective actions were implemented to prevent a recurrence. There were no other accidents or breakdowns to report that resulted in a spill of cloud seeding agents or fuel, or failure of controls specified in the Environmental Management Plan.
Thailand - active
Source reliability : 100%
The 'Pattaya Mail' reported on the 12th of January that the "PM observes cloud seeding operation" - The Royal Rainmaking operation is anticipated to greatly contribute to the tackling of the ongoing air pollution issue in Chiang Mai and the northern region in general.
Saudi Arabia - 3-phase ongoing project
Source reliability : 100%
The Saudi Gazette reports on the 14th January that "Saudi Arabia aims to recycle 95% of waste, boosting GDP by SR120 billion" and that "This reduction is attributed to the numerous reserves, increased rainfall, cloud seeding programs, and preservation of over 99,000 hectares of land, along with the planting of approximately 50 million trees across the Kingdom."
Source:
UAE
Panama
Pakistan
https://www.nation.com.pk/05-Jan-2024/another-artificial-rain-in-lahore-on-cards
https://www.theportugalnews.com/news/2024-01-06/artificial-rain/84754
https://www.thenews.com.pk/print/920951-artificial-rains-to-control-smog-can-be-high-risk-mechanism
USA
California, USA
Arizona, USA
https://www.change.org/p/petition-to-outlaw-stratospheric-aerosol-injection-aka-chemtrails
Canada
https://factcheck.afp.com/doc.afp.com.349J6TQ
Uganda
https://ugandaradionetwork.net/story/mbarara-scientist-joins-search-for-artificial-clouds-
Malaysia
https://www.nst.com.my/news/nation/2024/01/997914/water-level-air-itam-dam-drops-below-70-cent
India
Iran
https://www.tehrantimes.com/news/493446/West-Asia-s-water-crisis-deepens-through-cloud-wars
Indonesia
China
https://egusphere.copernicus.org/preprints/2024/egusphere-2023-2904/
Zimbabwe
https://www.herald.co.zw/govt-launches-national-cloud-seeding/
https://www.chronicle.co.zw/watch-us400k-cloud-seeding-programme-launched/
Snowy Hydro - Australia
Thailand
Saudi Arabia