06 Dec Cloud Seeding: A Viable Option for Improving Air Quality
SYLLABUS MAPPING:
GS-3-Science and Technology-Cloud Seeding: A Viable Option for Improving Air Quality
FOR PRELIMS:
What is cloud seeding? substance used in cloud seeding mechanism of cloud seeding working
FOR MAINS:
What is cloud seeding? Explain its applications and limitations in addressing air quality and water resource issues.
Why in the news?
Recently, Delhi has been grappling with record levels of air pollution, prompting the government to consider “cloud seeding” or “artificial rainfall” as an emergency measure to tackle the crisis. The Delhi government has urged the Centre to convene an urgent meeting and approve plans to induce artificial rain over the city to combat the severe pollution levels.
What is Cloud Seeding?
Cloud seeding is a weather modification technique that involves dispersing substances into the atmosphere to stimulate cloud condensation and encourage precipitation. It is commonly employed to enhance rainfall, reduce hail, and dissipate fog, especially in areas facing water scarcity or critical water resource challenges.
How Cloud Seeding Works
1. Process:
Particles are released into clouds, serving as nuclei around which water droplets form.
This increases the coalescence of water droplets, enhancing the likelihood of precipitation.
2. Common Substances Used
Silver Iodide: Mimics ice nuclei and is widely used for cold cloud seeding.
Sodium Iodide: Offers unique properties suitable for weather modification.
The Role of Silver Iodide in Cloud Seeding:
1. Chemical Properties: Silver iodide (AgI) has a crystalline structure similar to ice, making it particularly effective in cold clouds where temperatures are below freezing.
2. Effectiveness: It enhances precipitation in cold and mixed-phase clouds by providing critical ice nuclei.
3. Environmental Impact: Concerns exist regarding its potential toxicity, particularly to aquatic ecosystems and the broader environment.
Applications of Cloud Seeding:
1. Water Resource Management: Cloud seeding helps replenish aquifers and reservoirs, providing additional water for agricultural and municipal needs.
2. Drought Mitigation: It aids in alleviating drought conditions by increasing precipitation levels.
3. Snowpack Enhancement: By boosting snowfall in mountainous regions, cloud seeding ensures a steady water supply from snowmelt.
4. Air Quality Improvement: Precipitation induced by cloud seeding helps wash pollutants out of the atmosphere, improving air quality.
5. Airport Runway Stability: Cloud seeding creates stable weather conditions around airports, ensuring safer aircraft takeoffs and landings.
Limitations of Cloud Seeding:
1. Limited Effectiveness: Cloud seeding cannot fully resolve drought conditions and only partially addresses water shortages. It is effective only on specific types of clouds and cannot generate rainfall from all cloud formations.
2. Unpredictable Weather Effects: The process can sometimes lead to abnormal weather events, such as flash floods.
3. Environmental and Health Risks: The chemicals used in cloud seeding are toxic, posing risks to both the environment and human health.
4. Impact on Global Warming: Some chemicals released during cloud seeding contribute to global warming.
5. Limited Scope of Influence: Cloud seeding can only alter certain clouds and does not affect large-scale weather patterns or climatic events.
6. Feasibility Issues: The Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) has declared cloud seeding infeasible in Delhi for managing winter pollution due to insufficient atmospheric moisture and the need for pre-existing clouds.
Sustainable Bays :
Sustainable bays refer to the management and conservation of bay ecosystems in a way that balances ecological health, economic benefits, and social well-being. This involves maintaining the natural processes and biodiversity of bays while ensuring that human activities, such as fishing, tourism, and development, do not degrade the environment.
Key aspects of managing sustainable bays include:
1. Marine Conservation: Protecting marine life and habitats within bays by creating marine protected areas (MPAs) and enforcing laws to prevent overfishing, pollution, and habitat destruction.
2. Water Quality Management: Implementing measures to control pollution (from industrial, agricultural, and urban sources) and reduce nutrient loading (such as nitrogen and phosphorus) that leads to issues like algal blooms, hypoxia (low oxygen), and water contamination.
3. Coastal Protection: Protecting shorelines from erosion and degradation by using sustainable techniques, such as mangrove restoration, coral reef protection, and the creation of artificial reefs.
4. Community Engagement: Involving local communities in sustainable management practices, such as sustainable fishing, eco-tourism, and public education on the importance of bay ecosystems.
5. Climate Change Adaptation: Taking action to make bays more resilient to climate change impacts like sea-level rise and extreme weather events through adaptive management and infrastructure solutions.
6. Sustainable Development: Ensuring that human development within and around bays, such as urbanization and infrastructure projects, is done in a way that does not compromise the long-term health of the ecosystem.
Conclusion
Cloud seeding holds potential for improving air quality and water resources, but its use in Delhi to address severe pollution is limited and controversial. While it can aid in precipitation, it has drawbacks such as environmental risks, unpredictable weather, and limited effectiveness. Concerns about the toxicity of chemicals like silver iodide also raise environmental issues. The Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) notes that cloud seeding may not be feasible in Delhi due to inadequate moisture and cloud conditions. A more sustainable, long-term solution to Delhi’s pollution requires stricter regulations, advanced pollution control technologies, and increased public awareness.
Download Plutus IAS Current Affairs Eng Med 6th Dec 2024
Prelims Question:
Q. Consider the following statements:
1. Cloud seeding involves the dispersion of substances like silver iodide to stimulate cloud formation and induce precipitation.
2. The Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) has declared cloud seeding to be highly effective for managing air pollution in all regions.
3. Cloud seeding can also be used to improve snowpack in mountainous regions, which helps in water resource management.
How many of the statements given above are correct?
A. Only one
B. Only two
C. All three
D. None
Answer: A
Mains Question:
Q. Cloud seeding has been considered as a potential solution for improving air quality and addressing water resource challenges. However, its effectiveness and environmental impact remain contentious. Discuss the process, applications, and limitations of cloud seeding in managing pollution and water scarcity.
(250 words, 15 marks)
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