Parched and desperate for rain, Kazakhstan turns to cloud-seeding in fight against drought

In the southern Kazakh region of Turkestan, where drought and water scarcity are rampant, authorities have turned to cloud-seeding as a means to combat the crisis. A small plane took off from an airport, equipped with a cloud-seeding flare system, equipped with cartridges that contain a substance which, when dispersed in clouds, makes them heavy enough to fall as rain.

Kazakhstan's meteorological service is betting that this technique will help alleviate the impact of drought and water shortages in the country's leading cotton-growing region. The targeted areas cover approximately 9,110 square kilometers of arable land, with an estimated economic benefit of around $75 million per year through improved harvests.

Cloud seeding has demonstrated the potential to increase precipitation by 15 to 20 percent, according to scientific studies. However, the success of this technique is not guaranteed due to various factors, and its failure is a significant risk. The method involves either burning seeding rockets to release a plume of particles or spraying a saline solution directly into the cloud for greater precision.

The particles, primarily made of sodium chloride and potassium chloride, weigh down the droplets, causing them to grow larger and fall as rain. Kazakhstan's cloud-seeding trials have raised concerns in neighboring Kyrgyzstan, with fears of "cloud theft" and the potential for Kazakhstan to divert rain clouds away from its own drought-stricken areas.

The Kazakh meteorological service has stated that the project's impact is "local and short-lived," and that it does not affect climate processes or alter the movement of air masses. Despite the uncertainties surrounding cloud seeding, the World Meteorological Organization acknowledges the technique's potential benefits in combating drought, hail, and air pollution.

The United Nations organization has called for more scientific research into the method and ruled out any danger to human health or the environment. In the wake of a new record-high temperature of 44.9C experienced by a region in southern Kazakhstan last year, cloud seeding remains an experimental approach for Central Asia, a region warming twice as fast as the global average.