How Cloud Seeding Works and Why It’s Controversial: QuickTake

Humans started using chemicals to supercharge the capacity of clouds to release rain and snow decades ago, and the technology is gaining new traction as climate change makes some regions hotter and drier. While popular in some countries, including the US, cloud seeding is controversial because it can have unintended consequences such as too much rain and increased pollution. Dubai experienced record rainfall leading to flooding April 16 after cloud seeding, though meteorologists said it was unlikely that had a significant impact on the rainfall.

The debate around modifying and controlling the weather, also referred to as geoengineering the planet, has intensified as clean technologies and reductions in greenhouse gas ...