I'm your host, Laurel Ruma. An independent investigation sought by Tasmanias parliament into the causes of the 2016 flooding found that cloud seeding, a process aimed at increasing precipitation, had no impact on the severe weather. In a 2016 news report from the Australian TV network 7News, the broadcasters discuss Tasmanians' worries that cloud seeding might have contributed to the state's worst floods in forty years. Cloud condensation nuclei can be introduced into the atmosphere naturally or artificially. Play it now! A Facebook post with over 23K views asserts this claim with footage from a news broadcast about cloud seeding before a severe flood in Southern Tasmania. Since the 1940s, scientists have studied ways to increase rainfall with the goal of increasing precipitation in arid and semi-arid climates. They are made of many super cooled water vapors, so although they are below zero, they remain as vapor. This is part of APs effort to address widely shared misinformation, including work with outside companies and organizations to add factual context to misleading content that is circulating online. Towards New Zealand, Domensino says, an area of high pressure known as a blocking high stops the system from moving away into the Tasman Sea. March 28, 2022. Pilots get "really violent" threats after online rumors wrongly pin devastating floods on cloud seeding. However, Dr. Zou explains, The cloud-seeding materials used today have been around for many decades. Prof Stuart Khan, an expert on water management at the University of New South Wales, says Wivenhoe gained about 1,450 billion litres of water, which all came in under three days. Theres no evidence to suggest it played a role in the 2022 floods in southeastern Australia, either. We dont have that technology, she said. An atmospheric research expert told The Associated Press that cloud seeding would not change the dynamics of a cloud enough to cause massive flooding' (https://bit.ly/3NwnqJq). There are up to 15,000 homes flooded in the city, with 1,544 people in evacuation centres in the south-east. According to some laboratory studies, a high concentration of AgI can affect smaller organisms like algae and bacteria when applied consistently over a long period of time. The pilot's aviation company said it was conducting aerial surveys for a . The views expressed in the contents above are those of our users and do not necessarily reflect the views of MailOnline. Covid origin likely China lab incident - FBI chief. Prime inner-city areas including much of the South Bank precinct are underwater. To help advance the science, in 2015 the UAE government launched a new initiative, the UAE Research Program for Rain Enhancement Science. Trials in Tasmania were also successful and since the 1960s, Hydro Tasmania has continued cloud seeding over the state. As you know, cold clouds with sub-zero temperatures are also present in the atmosphere. Read about our approach to external linking. The key factors of a successful cloud seeding operation include, first, identifying the suitable cloud for seeding. Hydro Tasmania (HT)s cloud seeding activities on 5 June had no impact on precipitation, with this conclusion having a solid scientific basis, stated the June 2017 independent parliamentary report. That's it for this episode of Business Lab. A 2016 news clip was associated with the recent floods in Australia. Laurel: Cloud seeding is a form of weather modification that mimics what naturally occurs in clouds but enhances the process by adding particles that can stimulate and accelerate the condensation process. Its no wonder then that several 'cloud seeding' (rain-making) experiments have been conducted in Australia. The 2022 eastern Australia floods were one of the nation's worst recorded flood disasters with a series of floods that occurred from February to April in South East Queensland, the Wide Bay-Burnett and parts of coastal New South Wales. Our in-depth reporting reveals whats going on now to prepare you for whats coming next. The United Arab Emirates is creating its own rain using drones that fly into clouds and unleash electrical charges to beat the sweltering 122 degrees Fahrenheit (50 degrees Celsius) heat. There is devastation in northern NSW as Wilsons River rises two metres above previous flood records, inundating the town of Lismore. March 8, 2022 . It can enhance precipitation in areas experiencing drought, among other uses. To better understand the icons, colours and weather terms used throughout Weatherzone, please check the legend and glossary. There's no evidence to suggest it played a role in the 2022 floods in southeastern Australia, either. If experts complete seeding at the right time, it leads to more moisture supply, which will eventually create rainwater. On March 30, 2022, BBC News reported that thousands of people had to evacuate their homes due to a severe flood on the east coast of Australia. The costs are split among state agencies in Colorado, Utah and Wyoming, where the . 7.4 Cloud seeding from a plane uses silver iodide burners, dry ice pellets or hygroscopic flares. In the midst of an historic megadrought, states in the American West are embracing cloud seeding to increase snow and rainfall. Cloud seeding is still practiced in the Snowy Mountains in NSW today, carried out by Snowy Hydro Limited. The report did not find evidence to prove that the cloud seeding flight contributed to the flood. Cloud seeding adds small, ice-like particles to clouds. We are no longer accepting comments on this article. Showers and #thunderstorms will develop across eastern and central #Vic and parts of northern #Tas on Wednesday, continuing across the region until the weekend extending into eastern #SA and western Vic as well.Latest forecasts: https://t.co/EGP9Qynjs3 pic.twitter.com/4dZwkN8TKM. This process is known as glaciogenic cloud seeding. Laurel: You've also developed another kind of technology, ice nucleating particles. Not since Charlemagne was crowned . Laurel: To successfully cloud seed, you need a number of things: the right air temperature, the right humidity, a surface that attracts water and keeps it, and then the correct size material to allow condensation to form on the particle. Siems, a professor who leads a Monash University team studying clouds and precipitation, said the practice is not conducted in the Northern Rivers region and it cannot cause flooding. A dangerous and bizarre conspiracy theory is circulating that the devastating floods which have torn through Australia's . 'The Gold Coast and surrounds is currently under a government weather warfare attack,' he told his army of devoted followers. Cloud seeding has strict requirements. According to Snowy Hydro, their Cloud Seeding Program increases precipitation by an average of 14 percent. However, there is no evidence that cloud seeding was responsible for the flood. It involves manipulating existing clouds to try and help them produce more rain or snow. Oct 15 (Reuters) - Floods caused by torrential rain are hitting large swathes of southeast Australia, inundating hundreds of homes and forcing authorities to urge thousands of people to evacuate . JB Straubel speaks about his company, Redwood Materials, and what challenges loom for batteries. "We don't have a co-ordinated effort to change the weather, because it's just physically and financially unfeasible," says Dr Gilbert, who adds that even if cloud seeding played a role, it would have "an absolutely minuscule effect.". Where did it go wrong. Theres a small one, a medium one, and a large one. A team of pilots is conducting an investigation by releasing the seeding materials and in real time capturing and analyzing them. "A pilot from Handel Aviation in Cessna 210N Centurion VH-JIL did a breakfast time cloud seeding run over Lismore South & Ballina today while sightseeing the massive flood below him," one widely shared post reads. La Nia events can influence weather in different ways across the . For the third time this year, Sydney has been hit by major floods. It will initiate from the thin water layer formed on the surface of the ice nuclease, and the ice will grow rapidly at the expense of the water vapor in the cloud. The language they are using such as "rain bombs" is clear enough for me,' a commenter said. Why are you interested in this type of research? It does not have the ability to suddenly produce all kinds of heavy rain and snow, Tessendorf said, adding, That process is just not really set up to take a cloud that may not be an effective precipitation producer and suddenly make it into the most efficient flood-producing cloud.. It was not written by MIT Technology Reviews editorial staff. Laurel Ruma: From MIT Technology Review, I'm Laurel Ruma, and this is Business Lab. The BoM has said heavy rainfall events will get more intense as the world gets hotter. Both those waterways flow freely into the Brisbane River below Wivenhoe, which is filling at an incredible rate. Laurel: Dr. Zou, thank you so much for being with us here on the Business Lab. In it, the newsreader reports on concerns by Tasmanian residents that the region's worst floods in 40 years could have been linked to cloud seeding. So far, there are no reports of cloud seeding or floods in Tasmania in 2022. Wivenhoe Dam Brisbanes main source of water and also a key piece of infrastructure to stop the city flooding starts rising rapidly from 58% capacity. The more people who know about this bulls**t the better.'. In Australia, a La Nia increases the likelihood of rain, cyclones, and cooler daytime temperatures. Four police officers knocked down the former bodybuilder's door when he refused to open it, claiming they didn't have authorisation to be on the property. A rain-enhancing process known as cloud seeding caused historic flooding in Tasmania, Australia, in 2016 and along Australias southeastern coast this year. There is already local flooding from the intense and incessant rain that is interspersed with violent thunderstorms. Conspiracy theorists have claimed that cloud seeding leads to climate change and natural disasters like floods. The flooding in October 2022 is the latest in a series of major floods to affect eastern Australia since unusually wet conditions began in early 2021. But a probe by the Tasmanian government into the 2016 flooding has since been completed, and investigators and expert atmospheric scientists found that cloud seeding by Hydro Tasmania, a government-owned generator of renewable energy, did not contribute to or worsen the heavy rains. Laurel: Back to your technology, you filed a patent on the cloud seeding material itself. Often they require minus 25 degrees or even lower. "They needed a shoulder to cry on and hear their story. Iran has already accused Israel of stealing its water by using cloud-seeding that reduces rainfall over its territory. Today, that endeavor is making . "Handel Aviation operates aerial photography aircraft only. 'Cloud seeding is being used to increase rainfall by corrupt governments to act on mother nature. The small one could be 20 meters and the large one could be like a building. Image: How cloud seeding works in the NSW Snowy Mountains. Like: 'we have the pilots' names, we know where you live, you're going to pay for this,' kind of stuff," Handel told AFP. (Photo: Flooding in Loganlea, Queensland on Feb. 28, 2022. Clouds form when water vapor in the atmosphere cools and condenses to form tiny water droplets or ice crystals in the sky. Because the coated nanolayers are more hydrophilic and porous, the water can be absorbed easily and increase the local relative humidity of the crystals and increase the probability of forming water droplets. It's very promising to know more about the effects of this seeding material. The previous record was 600.4mm in 1974. Cloud seeding gives these clouds a lot more ice crystals (or cloud nuclei). We call them UAEREP [United Arab Emirates Research Program for Rain Enhancement Science]. Defence and National Security Intelligence. The extra water produced from cloud seeding can sit in water storages for multiple years. AP'S ASSESSMENT: False. Despite the online claims, cloud seeding is not responsible for any of the east coast floods, said weather modification expert Simon Siems. Experts say no single factor can explain this extreme weather, pointing instead to warmer oceans and saturated soils as contributing factors. Because the process is random and uncertain, the form and size of the particle cannot be controlled and most are probably too small to be effective cloud seeding materials. He was charged with incitement for allegedly encouraging his social media followers to attend an illegal rally. A Hydro Tasmania spokesperson told the AP that it has since stopped conducting cloud seeding. To achieve this, we use the nanotechnology to deposit titanium dioxide nanoparticles as a shell layer and sodium chloride crystal core. Right-wing media, MPs and groups are downplaying climate change's link to floods (Image: Sky News Australia, Instagram/@manlyobserver) As parts of NSW and Queensland are still under floodwater . Cloud seeding got its start in 1947, with General Electric scientists working under a military contract to find a way to de-ice planes in cold weather and create fog to obscure troop movements. Dr. Zou: In the natural water cycle on the earth, the sun irradiates on the surface of our planet and the water on the surface is evaporated by the heat as the vapors. Were not altering the updraft of the clouds. CBS News reported on April 8 that many Australian pilots and aviation companies received threats regarding false claims on social media about cloud seeding. In partnership withUAE Pavilion Expo 2020 Dubai. 15 February 2014. The damage was much worse than predicted. Read about our approach to external linking. Laurel: In the past, one of the challenges scientists encountered when researching cloud seeding was the lack of a simulation environment. "Cloud seeding aims to enhance the amount of rain falling from rain-bearing clouds," Mr McNamara said. APS ASSESSMENT: False. Australia floods: Nearly a metre of rain in just four days. THE FACTS: In recent months, Australias southeastern coast has experienced some of its, in more than a decade, leading some social media users to highlight a previous instance of flooding and spread false theories about what caused, Twitter users are sharing a clip from a 2016 news broadcast about flooding in Tasmania to claim it proves that. Greta Thunberg joins activists' protest against a wind farm in Norway, Stronger hurricanes threaten homes even away from the coasts, Venice canals run dry as lingering weather system impacts tide cycles, Climate change is making winter weather warmer and "weirder". Social media users are sharing a news clip from 2016 about cloud seeding the day before a severe flood in Southern Tasmania. Tasmania has continued cloud seeding to increase snow and rainfall surrounds is currently a...: Nearly a metre of rain, cyclones, and what challenges loom for batteries seeding. 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