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Cloud seeding conducted amid long overdue rain in the south
According to local beliefs, the first thunder of spring will usher in rain, and indeed, thunder rumbled yesterday, which, sure enough, was followed by rain. As a weather front passed through the island, the Water Resources Agency seized the opportunity to carry out artificial rainmaking at reservoirs across the nation. But at the end of the day, the overall intake was still negligible.
At long last, a downpour in Southern Taiwan. The Water Resources Agency seized the opportunity to carry out cloud seeding, an artificial rainmaking operation. Flares were launched Saturday night at Zengwen Reservoir, Cishan and Namasia Districts, as well as at Jiaxian Weir in Kaohsiung. Officials hoped that cloud seeding would increase precipitation by 10% to 30%, giving Southern Taiwan a temporary relief from the current drought.
Before the weather front reached the south, it arrived in Northern Taiwan first, where cloud seeing was also performed. In addition to launching flares, workers also burned chemicals in canisters on the ground, in hopes of increasing the rainfall. All these efforts are done because the drought has affected not only the south, but also some places in the north. Shihmen Reservoir in Taoyuan is also seeing its water level recede. A land deity’s temple and a prairie that had been submerged when the reservoir was constructed back in the 1960s have now reappeared.
Voice of Kuo Yao-cheng
Northern Region Water Resources Office
With the release of the artificial flares, we hope to bring as much rain as possible into Shihmen reservoir.
As water levels continue to drop at reservoirs across the nation, cloud seeding was also carried out at Second Baoshan Reservoir, which is the main water source for Hsinchu, and Mingde Reservoir, which supplies the Miaoli area, and Liyutan, which supplies Miaoli and Taichung . However, at the end of the day, the water intake still left a lot to be desired.
Wang Yi-feng
Water Resources Agency
The main problem is that the land has been dry for too long, so when the rain falls, a considerable amount is absorbed by the land. Although yesterday’s rain has helped somewhat, the greater benefit may be that after yesterday’s rain, the plains now have more water for irrigation.
According to data, water levels at the nation’s reservoirs continue to drop. Taiwan’s largest reservoir, Zengwen Reservoir is only 11.3% full. The capacity at a dozen reservoirs, including Baoshan, Mingde, and Liyutan is less than 40%. With the continuing drought, more rain is all one can hope for.
2023-03-26
