In September, the Central Government approved the Mausam Mission. This project of around two billion rupees in two years will not only provide information on climate change but can also control it to some extent. Under this scheme a cloud chamber will be built. The construction work of the chamber is being carried out by the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM), Pune. But what is this cloud chamber and how will it work? Can you really control the weather?
What is the cloud chamber and how will it work?
The cloud chamber will be a closed drum like a cylinder or tube, inside which vapors and aerosols (very small water droplets) will be filled. Humidity and temperature will be controlled within this drum-shaped structure so that clouds can form. Many countries have cloud chambers, which are at the basic level. However, India is trying to build a cloud chamber that can not only cause rain but also study Indian monsoon clouds.
This chamber will have convection property. This is a process in which hot air rises, while cold air falls. Clouds are formed from this. This process is carried out artificially in a convective cloud chamber. Very few countries in the world have such an advanced camera because its construction and control are very expensive. Currently the United States, Switzerland, Russia, France, the United Kingdom, Germany and China have this system.
Why does the country need it?
In cloud physics the behavior of clouds is understood. How clouds work during the rainy season or what changes in extreme conditions result in thunderstorms. This also includes cloud bursting. Weather modification can also be done through the cloud chamber. It is hoped that in the next two years scientists will be able to create very advanced systems that can stay inside the chamber.
What is happening with cloud seeding?
In cloud seeding, the focus is solely on cloud creation. During seeding, a special program was carried out at our place: Cloud Engagement and Aerosol Enhancement Experiment. This experiment took place in four phases over more than a decade. In the last phase, the work was carried out in Solapur, Maharashtra. It often rained less in Solapur. In this phase, it was discovered that cloud seeding can provide good rainfall in a defined area. Precipitation can increase by about 46 percent, but has many limitations.
What is the Mausam mission?
For this, next generation radars and satellites will be manufactured that will be able to completely predict or correct the weather. A complete weather monitoring infrastructure will be created that will not only predict the weather but also alter it. For example, where it rains less or there are more storms, it can be controlled. This is a very large project, so along with the Indian Meteorological Department, the National Center for Medium Range Weather Forecasting and the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology are also involved in it.
Is there legal consent to control the climate?
There is a dispute over who first initiated efforts to control the climate. If Russia blames the United States, then the United States blames Russia. By the way, most countries attacked the United States. In August 1953, this country formed the Presidential Advisory Committee on Weather Control. The committee wanted to understand how weather can be modified so that it can be used in the national interest.
This was talked about openly in the 1950s. Even small-scale experiments were carried out to show how dust storms could be caused when the weather was clear or flooding due to melting snow. The United States boasted of this power when Russia (then the Soviet Union) also entered the picture. Its scientists demonstrated how to increase or decrease the temperature of the water in the Pacific Ocean. After this, the United States and Russia began to fight among themselves. Now many countries have joined this race. Even climate control is considered necessary to some extent.
Prohibition of carrying out work other than domestic work
Although there is a lot of controversy about weather modification that countries can misuse it, but if it is done for domestic use, other countries have no objection. To ensure that no country can cause a disaster in its environment through modern technologies, the Convention on Environmental Modification was approved in 1977, which prohibits the use of weather as a weapon. This international treaty has warned this many times.
