Wednesday, August 18, 2004
Sweltering Shanghai's rain making attempts finally succeed
SHANGHAI, China: Shanghai successfully induced rain showers by firing chemicals into clouds, snapping a heat wave that has severely strained electricity supplies, the city said Wednesday.
Rain fell Tuesday afternoon after a plane shot more than 200 kilograms (440 pounds) of silver iodide into clouds, according to a statement on the city government's Web site. Those showers sparked natural storms that soaked large parts of the city with over 10 millimeters (about 1/2 inch) of rain, it said. The cooling effect was immediate: Wednesday's high temperature was forecast at 31 degrees (88 degrees Fahrenheit), down from previous highs of around 35 degrees Celsius (95 degrees Fahrenheit) in recent days. Weeks of blazing temperatures have worsened an expected electricity deficit of about 4 million kilowatts in Shanghai this summer -- enough power to light 4 million homes -- forcing power rationing to thousands of factories. Shanghai has budgeted 4.7 million yuan (US$573,000) for cloud seeding, storing 3,000 silver iodide shells have been stored at a military airport in the nearby city of Wuxi. Tuesday's successful cloud seeding attempt followed three previous experiments over the city that produced little rain.--AP
News Poll
- Teacher held for oral sex on Year Two girl
- Lau sought psychiatrist’s help after death of fan’s dad
- Police shoot dead leader of ‘Berong Gang’
- Australian court sentences Malaysian who posed as taxi driver
- Teoh Beng Hock exhumed for second autopsy (Update)
- Foreign woman falls to death at high-end condo
- Prime Minister comes up with plan to end crisis in MCA
- 15-year-old held for trying to kill mum with acid-laced sarong
- Indonesia seizes 75tons of explosive material from M’sia
- Fresh polls in six to eight months if new mechanism used
- Australian court sentences Malaysian who posed as taxi driver
- Teacher held for oral sex on Year Two girl
- 10 states see increase in number of dengue cases
- AirAsia launches new flights to three Indian cities
- Teoh Beng Hock exhumed for second autopsy (Update)
- Lau sought psychiatrist’s help after death of fan’s dad
- Prime Minister comes up with plan to end crisis in MCA
- Take care of yourself first
- Police shoot dead leader of ‘Berong Gang’
- Our diversity is a blessing, says PM
RSS
