▲This artificial rainfall increase has brought timely rain to the Xuzhou area, which is helpful for local autumn grain sowing. Picture/Internet video screenshot
html On June 21, an artificial rainfall operation in Xuzhou, Jiangsu Province alleviated the drought in most areas of the city, but this "timely rain" also caused "noisy". According to Modern Express, some people left messages on Xuzhou Weather’s Weibo, asking why the increase in rain had to occur at this time. Was it intentional? Can't you change the time?Artificial rainfall enhancement to combat drought and disaster relief has been criticized, mainly because there was a Xue Zhiqian concert at the Xuzhou Olympic Sports Center on the night of June 21. Some fans at the scene complained that the rain had brought inconvenience to the concert. To this end, the local meteorological department has responded positively, saying that it is impossible to cover everything, and that it is necessary to consider the drought situation in the city and focus on ensuring agricultural drought resistance.
is from the perspective of a fan. He spent a lot of money to finally get the tickets, but when he came, he was showered. It was inevitable that he would feel dissatisfied. But if we learn more about the local drought and artificial rainfall, I believe fans will change their views. At least there are priorities.
Since the beginning of June, the region north of the Yangtze River in my country has entered a season of high temperature and drought, and is now in the transition period between summer grain harvest and autumn grain sowing. Jiangsu, where Xuzhou is located, as well as Anhui, Hebei and other provinces have also launched level four emergency response to major natural disasters in agriculture, reminding them to prepare for high temperature and drought weather and make every effort to ensure the safety of agricultural production.
Xuzhou, located to the north of the Yangtze River, has also entered a period of drought. The Jiangsu Provincial Meteorological Observatory has continuously issued high temperature warnings, and the highest temperatures in some areas such as Xuzhou have reached over 37°C in recent days. Regions north of the Yangtze River, including Xuzhou, have experienced varying degrees of meteorological drought, and high temperatures have made the drought worse.
At the same time, Xuzhou has seen significantly less rainfall this year. The autumn crops in Xuzhou mainly include rice, corn, soybeans, etc., especially rice, which has a huge demand for water. Therefore, drought resistance is the key to successful planting of autumn crops.
An important measure to fight drought is artificial rainfall (rainfall). When there are clouds in the sky, the temperature in the clouds is reduced by artificial means, so that small water droplets in the clouds condense to form large water droplets, forming rainfall.
Artificial rain enhancement is divided into warm cloud rain enhancement and cold cloud rain enhancement. To make warm clouds with temperatures above 0°C precipitate or increase rainfall, hygroscopic particles such as salt powder and urea must be spread in the clouds to promote the formation of large cloud droplets and form or increase precipitation.
To precipitate or increase rainfall in cold clouds with temperatures below 0°C, aircraft or cannons are used to spread dry ice, silver iodide and other catalysts, thereby producing a large number of ice crystals, increasing the density of ice crystals in the upper part of cold clouds, and promoting or increasing precipitation.
One of the main conditions for artificial rain enhancement is that there should be enough clouds in the sky. A better artificial rainfall is to launch rain-enhancing agents, such as dry ice or silver iodide, to perform cold cloud precipitation when rainfall is observed, which will greatly increase rainfall and alleviate drought conditions.
However, clouds in the sky are always coming and going, so the meteorological department needs to closely observe weather changes 24 hours a day to predict and evaluate possible rainfall in a timely manner.
This time, the Xuzhou Meteorological Bureau observed that there was an obvious precipitation process in Xuzhou from noon to night on June 21, so they seized the opportunity and organized and implemented multiple artificial rainfall operations in the city, and achieved good results. There were even heavy rains in some areas of Xuzhou. This timely rain has also greatly contributed to the local autumn grain sowing.
Artificial rainfall enhancement requires round-the-clock observation and seizing the opportunity to increase rainfall in time, otherwise the opportunity will be missed. Currently, summer planting and management in Jiangsu Province are in a concentrated and critical period of full development. Whether autumn grain can be sown in time will directly affect grain production, food security and farmers' harvests. There must be no delay, and no one can stay out of it.
Therefore, when the local government seized this opportunity of artificial rain enhancement, it was impossible to take care of the concert at the same time. Some live fans had to brave the rain to watch. There was really no way around it. This is why, in addition to complaints from some fans, many concertgoers are supportive of this artificial rain increase.
In fact, as long as you have such a peaceful mind, watching a concert in the rain is a rare life experience. As for whether drought relief or a concert is more important, it is not a multiple-choice question without an answer, and there should be no "noise" about it.
writing / Zhang Tiankan (popular science writer)
editor / Chi Daohua
proofread / Zhang Yanjun
