China issues rules on controlling weather

Asian Economic News, May 6, 2002

BEIJING, April 29 Kyodo

Chinese officials' penchant for trying to use detailed rules to control society will be extended with the issuance on May 1 of rules on how to regulate the weather, according to a state media report Monday.

The rules provide instructions to local governments on how to regulate ''man-made weather procedures,'' such as cloud seeding to induce rain, with meteorological agencies, the English-language China Daily reported.

They also streamline the use of other related services, such as the air force, aviation industry, police and hydrological departments, to create a ''standardized weather modification mechanism.''

Thanks to economic and technological advancements, China has introduced weather modification measures throughout the country, using a number of measures unspecified in the report including the use of planes, anti-aircraft guns and rocket launchers.

China is increasingly using weather modification, such as measures to dispel fog and prevent hailstorms and frost, to alleviate droughts and other natural disasters, including those caused by climate change, it said.

However, in an indication that the same tools of economic and technological development China is using to modify the weather are also harming its environment, a U.N. Development Program released Friday said air pollution kills hundreds of thousands of China's city dwellers every year.