To produce artificial rain, a process called cloud seeding is used. Explanations in a videographic. VIDEOGRAPHIC
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00:00Artificial rain has a long history. In 1946, the first experiment to create it was conducted
00:15in New York. The hope was it might tackle the severe drought gripping the country. The
00:20process of cloud seeding was invented. It consists of spraying fine particles in aerosol
00:27or powder form into clouds at an altitude of 2 to 4,000 metres. A light aircraft fires
00:34flares filled with sodium chloride or silver iodide crystals into the clouds. The particles
00:39play the role of giant nuclei, making possible the condensation of water vapour contained
00:44in the cloud into droplets of water. 15 to 30 minutes later, down comes the rain. Another
00:49cheaper technique consists of launching small rockets from the ground containing the particles
00:54into the clouds. China, a leader in artificial rain development, uses military equipment
00:58already set up in arid regions from which to launch these rockets. Artificial changes
01:03to the climate are not without controversy. There's no scientific evidence it actually
01:07works, especially in arid regions where rain evaporates before it reaches the ground. As
01:13yet, there's no evidence of the toxicity of the rain, full of silver iodide.