The technique of seeding or fertilizing clouds to obtain rain, consists of accelerating or making efficient a process that already exists naturally in the atmosphere, a cloud with optimal humidity conditions and a temperature between -10 and -20 degrees Celsius is necessary to then spread the silver iodide in a localized way and achieve precipitation, explained Fernanda Alderete, a graduate in Chemistry from the Faculty of Chemical Sciences of the Autonomous University of Chihuahua.
He explained that silver iodide is a compound that can be found in nature in the form of a mineral, but it can also be synthesized in the laboratory, with a solution of silver nitrate and potassium iodide, which generates a reaction and is obtained this compound whose solid structure is very similar to ice.
“When silver iodide is spread in clouds that meet optimal conditions, silver iodide crystals act as nuclei of condensation or crystallization and make the process of converting water vapor to the liquid or solid phase more efficient, which precipitate by gravity in the form of rain, in this same process it also manages to decrease if there are larger crystals, so it can also avoid hail that causes damage “
The interviewee emphasized that environmental impact must be seen, despite the fact that these tests have been carried out since 1986, “but the environmental impact that it can generate should be studied more, if it is sporadically there should be no problems, but frequently it could not be so convenient, ”he argued.
He mentioned that it is very important to know that this “seeding” is not a process that “forms clouds”, but must be part of a natural process, “It is not useful to carry out this process if you do not have the necessary environmental conditions for formation. of rain”.
He added that this technique can also serve as an “anti-hail” that causes havoc in agricultural areas. “The silver iodide in this case what it does is reduce the size of the hail crystals; thus dissolving the storm and minimizing damage on the ground.
He said that this method has been done in other places, for example, in Spain it has been used as an anti-hail method “we know that there has had a good effect, studies have shown that this technique is safe and does not represent a risk since the concentration of silver in rainfall, in water and soil is very low, but I think it is extremely important to continue evaluating the environmental impact in its periodic use “
Regarding the time in which results can be seen with this method, the chemist reported that there are studies that say that it has a localized effect, that is, the cloud is injected and the rain falls only in this area where they bombard, while the response time it can be 15 60 minutes maximum, you can see the precipitation attributed to the induction of this compound.
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