Monday, July 13, 2009

Mumbai considers cloud seeding to make it rain: reports

Terra Daily via Agence France-Presse: The civic authorities in India's financial capital Mumbai are considering cloud seeding amid growing water shortages caused by a lack of consistent monsoon rain, media here reported Friday. The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) said it had consulted the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) and a company that conducted a cloud seeding experiment in 1992 for the best time to carry out the process.

The poor monsoon has seen water levels drop markedly at the six lakes that supply Mumbai with 3.3 billion litres (872 million US gallons) of water every day. ... "Over the coming week, we will consult the IMD to work out how to efficiently and effectively carry out the process of cloud seeding," senior BMC official Anil Diggikar was quoted as saying in The Hindustan Times newspaper.

The process involves spraying the chemical compound silver iodide or dry ice (frozen carbon dioxide) from an aircraft onto clouds to induce rainfall….

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