China fires rockets at clouds, and experts call the plan 'absurd'

China’s large-scale cloud-seeding campaign, described as using rockets “at clouds,” has drawn criticism from experts who call parts of the approach “absurd.” The effort aims to influence weather patterns to encourage rainfall, particularly as drought worsens in multiple regions. According to Live Science, China has developed the most extensive weather modification program to date, involving roughly 50,000 workers, thousands of rocket launchers, and dozens of aircraft. A 2023 video showed soldiers firing rockets upward while planes and drones dispersed cloud-seeding material into existing clouds. Earlier, in 2018, officials proposed the Tianhe, or Sky River, project over a 620,000-square-mile area of the Tibetan Plateau to redirect moisture toward northern China. Scientists say cloud seeding can increase precipitation only from already-formed clouds, and cannot eliminate droughts even locally.