Water wars may take to the sky next
As with conflict over damming of rivers that pass through several countries, there is a real risk of water wars over moisture-laden clouds
AS EVIDENCE of climate change mounts and talkfests seemingly go nowhere, it seems the only thing to be done is to get ready for the worst or to modify the weather itself.
Last month’s Storm Boris which hit central Europe provided examples of mitigation by being prepared. Only places which were armed with practical strategies such as the construction of dams and floodways were able to cope.
Most notably, the defensive strategies adopted by Austria over decades proved very effective in protecting its capital. Vienna’s flood defence system was built up to cope with a flood of such a magnitude that had only a 0.05 per cent chance of occurring in any given year. It has records going back hundreds of years; a flood event of this magnitude had occurred in 1501. So, a flood control channel, the New Danube, was built in the 1970s. It is usually closed by weirs, creating an artificial lake. This time, the weirs were opened before the flood arrived and thus diverted the flood water away from the city.
This has also been a year of unbearably hot days in some parts of the world. In February, parts of West Africa reported temperatures of 50 degrees Celsius. Heat waves hit Mexico, the southern US and Central America. After that, India, southern Europe, Japan and Saudi Arabia experienced soaring temperatures. All of them suffered from a lack of rainfall. Rivers and streams began to dry up.
At this point, it should be noted that 25 per cent of the world’s population face water shortages, both for farming and for drinking. Some 17 countries face “extremely high” levels of water stress, while more than two billion people live in countries experiencing “high” water stress, according to the World Resources Institute.
Weather modification
So it comes as no surprise that many countries are looking at weather modification. This includes cloud seeding, both to induce rain or to wring it dry before storms hit population centres. In this part of the world, China and India have comprehensive strategies to both predict the weather and modify it when and where necessary.
BT in your inbox
Start and end each day with the latest news stories and analyses delivered straight to your inbox.
In fact, China has been modifying its weather, especially over cities, for many decades. In 2023, Beijing’s meteorological agency reported that it had scored “remarkable results” in ensuring farmers had enough water to improve crop yields; floods had been prevented. Forests, grassland and habitat of endangered species were kept safe from potential fire disasters.
India, too, recently launched an ambitious initiative for experiments with climate modification. Dubbed Mission Mausam, Delhi approved 20 billion rupees (S$307 million) over the next two years to upgrade weather forecast accuracy, and to study and implement weather modification. In the Arab region, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia are scaling up rain-making operations.
The techniques for making it rain (or snow) have been around since the 1940s. This can create its own problems. In 2011, Teheran accused Europe of robbing moisture from clouds destined for Iran. More recently, Teheran alleged Turkey of appropriating its clouds; the mountain peaks on the Turkish side of their mutual border were snowy, while the Iranian peaks on the opposite side were bare.
Who owns the clouds anyway? Who has the right to induce precipitation? As with conflict over damming of rivers that pass through several countries, there is a real risk of water wars over moisture-laden clouds.
Copyright SPH Media. All rights reserved.
