First regional weather modification center established in NE China

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China established on Friday its first regional weather modification center for northeast areas in Changchun, provincial capital of Jilin, to better serve agricultural production, disaster relief and ecological environmental protection.

The northeast region weather modification center covers Jilin, Heilongjiang, Liaoning provinces and the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, to bring about artificial rain and snow, and prevent hailstone and forest fire, by using aircraft, guns and rockets, according to Zhang Aimin, deputy chief of Jilin provincial meteorological bureau.

Zhang said northeast areas have had positive outcomes in weather modification in 2012, including increasing precipitation by 7.49 billion tonnes via cloud seeding, and generated as much as 4.95 billion yuan (808.7 million U.S.dollars).

Chen Zhenlin, director of disaster relief and public service office of China's Meteorological Administration, said China has initially planned six regional centers, and the center in the northeast region is the steppingstone.

Chen said the center, based in the nation's major grain producing areas, will manage and operate 12 aircraft in prevent and relieving unpredictable weather such as haze and drought.

Weather modification usually refers to cloud-seeding involving shooting various substances into clouds, such as silver iodide, salt and dry ice, to bring on the formation of larger raindrops and trigger downpours, as well as clear haze and clouds.

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