50 Years Ago: China Launches Bulgarian Language Radio Broadcasts
In a testament to enduring friendship, this year marks the 75th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Bulgaria and China
In recent months, China has stepped up its attempts to gain control over the weather, mainly aiming to be able to cause rain in drought-stricken areas.
In December, China's state council announced that by 2025, the weather control program would cover about half of the country's territory. We are talking about an area that is 20 times the size of the UK. The goal is to control rain- and snowfalls in this area. The statement said the program would help mitigate disasters, respond to wildfire emergencies and deal with unusually high temperatures or droughts.
Beijing's first attempts were made before the 2008 Olympics and aimed to reduce smog.
Over he span of five years, between 2012 and 2017, China spent more than USD 1.34 billion on the project in search of solutions.
In January this year, a specially designed weather modification drone of the Chinese Meteorological Administration - Ganlin-1 performed its first flight. Ganlin in translation means "sweet rain". The drone was created as part of a project launched in March 2019 to trigger rain in a mountainous area suffering from persistent drought.
Ganlin-1 is a modified version of a Chinese military aircraft and can fly over 14 hours. It carries on board various weather sensors, as well as a catalyst for "seeding clouds". Its developers say it can identify the optimal area for cloud seeding, release the catalyst and measure the effects afterwards.
As a concept, "cloud seeding" has been known for decades. It is about injecting small amounts of silver iodide into clouds with a lot of moisture, which then condenses around the new particles, they get heavier and fall in the form of rain or snow.
A US National Science Foundation study published last year found that "cloud seeding” can increase rainfalls in a given area if weather conditions are favorable." The study was one of the first to show that "cloud seeding" works, as until now it has been difficult to distinguish rainfalls created artificially from natural ones.
However, China's enthusiasm for developing this technology has raised concerns in neighboring India, where agriculture is heavily dependent on the monsoon already affected by climate change.
In addition, India and China have a territorial dispute in the Himalayas, which has been exacerbated in recent months and periodically led to clashes. In India, they fear that weather modification could potentially give China an advantage in a possible future conflict, given the importance of weather conditions for any troop movement in this inhospitable mountain region.
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During the night, expect mostly clear skies with scattered high clouds, bringing generally calm weather with temperatures ranging between 5°C and 10°C, around 5°C in Sofia
A fierce hailstorm wreaked havoc across south-eastern Bulgaria, leaving a trail of destruction in its wake
Overnight, cloud cover will disperse and decrease to mostly clear skies across the western half of the country, while rain will persist in the eastern regions
Over the next 24 hours, a cold front will move across the country, bringing mostly cloudy skies and widespread rain
During the night, showers are expected in some areas, primarily in the western and northern regions, while the rest of the country will experience clearing skies
During the night, cloud cover will increase and thicken, with showers expected to develop from the southwest
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