acing the nature’s fury and devoid of rain god’s blessing, Thailand has embraced artificial rain to combat droughts.
It has become almost a routine for four aeroplanes which daily take off from southwest of Bangkok with loads of salt. The planes reach a height of about 1800 metres and then the crew shovels out the crystalline powder hoping for a downpour. But this desperate bid by the Bureau of Royal Rainmaking would not suffice until there is a masterplan to combat global warming.
Meanwhile, scientists and governments meet in Bangkok this week to find a way out and their priority would be to agree on a means to curb greenhouse gas emission.
A few hours after one such flight, 10 minutes of shower fell on part of the Prachuap Khiri Khan province near the Myanmar border. Though the artificial rain could not really substitute the natural one, it does help.
Pikul Sinsert, a 40-year-old pineapple farmer, said
It may not be heavy rain, but it helps. If we waited for the seasonal rains to come in late May, all our pineapples would die. But five or ten minutes of artificial rain helps them survive.
Agriculture has been badly hit in Thailand which is world’s largest exporter of rice and natural rubber. The droughts have emerged as a major threat to the Thai economy.
The dry seasoned last year in fact prompted the government to advise the farmers to grow alternative crops that need little water.
The growing fear is that the recent El Nino might delay the arrival of monsoon this year, which means the royal rainmaking units would be well in demand.
Photo credit: Greenpeace