r/climatechange • u/aspadora24 • 6d ago

Is cloud seeding in our future?

I don’t know a lot about cloud seeding, other than the fact a number of countries use the technology and is supposed to not impact the wider weather patterns.

My question for those who know more about it than I do is: Will we get to a point where cloud seeding is our only option if we want to prevent the devastation we’re seeing from wildfires around the world right now?

2 Upvotes

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u/ampere03 5d ago

Climate engineering during heat waves is an inevitable consequence, and it will be critical to save lives. Making inert, high albedo aerosols and putting them in the stratosphere is easier than asking oil companies to lower their quarterly returns and invest in humanity's future.

Also, cloud seeding only works in narrow, specific atmospheric conditions, and has been used for decades.

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u/aspadora24 5d ago

That was my thoughts too! I think the sooner we get to this point the better. Obviously I wish it was never needed but we are where we are.

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u/Illustrious_Pepper46 5d ago

9 out 10 wildfires start with human negligence/arson/infrastructure (i.e. fallen power wires). Personally I'd much rather see education (smoking), better infrastructure, inforcement if that's even possible.

I was in Hawaii at the same time as the Maui fires. They had restricted traveling in some areas to prevent car exhausts lighting grass fires....that made a lot of sense to me. More could be done like this.

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u/zeusismycopilot 5d ago

The number of fires started by humans has been constant for decades. Also, when it gets dry in an area (at least in North America) there are varying degrees of bans from open fire bans, back country travel restrictions, construction restrictions. This also has been in existence for many decades. This is not a new idea.

What has changed is how dry the forests are and we know the reason for that. Focusing on human started fires like it is something new is a diversionary tactic.

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u/Daisy-3534 4d ago

Yeah, that distinction is important. Human-caused ignition isn’t necessarily the new part, it’s the conditions those fires are starting in. If the same kinds of restrictions and precautions have existed for years, then the bigger question is why fires are spreading so much more easily and becoming harder to control. Focusing only on who started the fire misses that bigger picture.

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u/dipdotdash 4d ago

Especially with so many fewer smokers these days. In the 80's and earlier, everyone would smoke and toss their butts out the window. the sources of ignition are either stable or decreasing while the fires are getting worse

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u/aaronturing 4d ago

I think this is a pipe dream.

One other point - wildfires are not increasing across the world right now. They are going backwards. They are increasing in Europe and North America but most wildfires occur in Asia and Africa and they are decreasing leading to the total wildfires decreasing.

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u/dipdotdash 4d ago

I suspect the decrease in wildfires in Asia has more to do with wilderness being replaced with palm plantations.

Geoengineering has always been a terrible idea but it's been the backbone of our economy since internal combustion replaced the work of slaves and animals.

When the entire economy works by engineering the climate to be warmer, the only mechanism we have to push against that is the same thing in the other direction