Map Shows States With Cloud-Seeding Programs in Place
Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content.
Cloud-seeding operations take place in at least nine U.S. states as of 2024, according to data from the United States Government Accountability Office (GAO).
Why It Matters
Weather modification has become entangled in political debate. Recent events—such as deadly flooding in Texas' Hill Country and subsequent political commentary—have once again brought the topic to the fore.
Officials and experts have attested that weather modification efforts are incapable of controlling severe events like hurricanes or large-scale floods, with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration having previously issued fact checks dispelling claims about secret government weather control.
What To Know
According to the GAO, states with active cloud seeding programs in 2024 are California, Nevada, Idaho, Utah, Wyoming, Colorado, New Mexico, Texas and North Dakota.
Weather modification, commonly referred to as cloud seeding, is an eco-friendly method used to increase precipitation—such as rain or snow—from clouds, according to the North American Weather Modification Council (NAWMC).
The process involves dispersing tiny particles, or "seeds," into the clouds to stimulate the formation of extra water droplets or ice crystals, which speeds up precipitation and enhances the cloud's effectiveness. Cloud seeding is also employed to minimize hail damage and dissipate fog.
"This well-established technology has been in use since the 1940s in dozens of countries around the world," it says.
What People Are Saying
Katja Friedrich, with the University of Colorado Boulder's Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences, told Newsweek: "It makes a great story if you think you can control the weather, in particular related to droughts and floods. We want to find answers to questions like 'who did it' and cloud seeding would be an easy target—easier than excepting that driving a car can lead to death or weather can be hazardous and powerful easily destroying lives and properties.
"If we were that successful with cloud seeding, we would also solve the water crisis in the western U.S. and in other arid parts of the world."
What Happens Next
Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene, a Georgia Republican, said on Saturday that she was introducing a bill that would target "weather modification." The bill would prohibit "the injection, release, or dispersion of chemicals or substances into the atmosphere for the express purpose of altering weather, temperature, climate, or sunlight intensity," she said on X, formerly Twitter.
"No person, company, entity, or government should ever be allowed to modify our weather by any means possible!!" she added in a follow-up post.
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