Beijing uses rain to wash away contaminated smoke

Beijing is planning to prevent increasing air pollution clouds with artificial interventions. They will use continuous artificial rain to melt the fog.

>>>Serious air pollution alarm in China

Lin Keqing, deputy mayor of Beijing City, said at a meeting on Tuesday (December 17) that the City Meteorological Station will begin experiments to eliminate artificial smoke and haze to improve quality. gas, Beijing News reported.

The move responds to the recent initiative by the China Meteorological Bureau, which requires local weather offices in this country to improve their ability to manage air quality through artificial weather intervention. 2015.

There are two ways to reduce smoke, artificial rain and artificial fog, according to Guo Xueliang, director of the Weather Modification Center under the China Meteorological Administration.

Photo: oceanology.hcmus.edu.vn

The creation of rain has been applied in many places in China, primarily as a way to combat past drought, the People's Daily quoted Guo as saying.

Rain is effective in controlling the cloud layer, Guo said, but basic weather conditions are needed. In addition, if the fog is mainly dust and smoke in the air without moisture, there is no effective way to remove contaminants.

Wang Gengchen, a researcher at the Institute of Atmospheric Physics at the Chinese Academy of Sciences, has put his doubts on new anti-air pollution methods.

"When the polluted particles are thick and surrounded by a very large area, the impact of artificial rainfall on the elimination of smoke and fog is very limited , " he told the Global Times newspaper on Wednesday (18). /twelfth).

For effective fumigation, it takes a significant cost to produce the necessary artificial precipitation, Wang added.

In Sichuan and Beijing, experiments were conducted through the use of liquefied nitrogen to convert mist particles into heavier ice crystals, reports said.

In November, a working group related to Beijing, Tianjin, and surrounding areas was established to implement the above solutions.

But Wang said, even if artificial rain could be created, if there was enough investment, under ripe conditions for rainfall, it would not reduce air pollution due to frequent air movement. , can bring contaminants coming from elsewhere.