Cloud bombardment is a chemical process that involves dispersing chemicals into clouds in order to increase their precipitation capacity. Experts consulted by RFI question its usefulness. It is not a new technique and in fact, during the López Obrador government it was already implemented in the Rainfall Stimulation Program to Mitigate Drought in 2021 and 2022.
Limited effect and high cost are the main limitations of cloud bombardment as a resource to fight against the drought that plagues Mexico. Experts consulted by RFI question its usefulness. To achieve this, aircraft equipped with devices that are responsible for dispersing chemical materials in the clouds are used, for example: silver iodide, sodium nitrate or, failing that, calcium chloridewhich help stimulate the formation of ice crystals in clouds and thus to increase the probability of precipitation.
Dr. Luis Ladino from the National Autonomous University of Mexico says: “It is very controversial and today not even the World Meteorological Organization recommends this strategy as a strategy that works from a scientific point of view.” The doctor points out on our antenna that if does not work from a scientific point of view is that “it is not reproducible. They argue that this precipitation has increased by 25% in some experiments. But then the scientific community can ask them to repeat it and prove it.”
To face the drought Engineer Antonio Gutiérrez Marcos, former director of potable water for the Valley of Mexico, advocates for long-term work on restoring water resources. “As excessive and disorderly urban development occurs, the areas that are normally recharged begin to be invaded. This causes adequate infiltration into the aquifer not to occur, generates ponding and flooding in the cities and then you start to fight with the rainwater instead of taking advantage of it” Gutiérrez Marcos sentenced in RFI.
According to Conagua, its monitoring in the main dams in Mexico, in at least three of the 210 bodies of water They are at their lowest water level, that is, at zero. His report revealed that the the toll damin San Luis Potosi, copandaro of Doloresin Michoacán and the dam divine redeemerin Querétaro, are the dams with lower water level.
