Cloud seeding is often used in arid areas to enhance rainfall or help remove fog. According to the University of Nevada, the technique works by putting small particles into the clouds — but to induce rain, there needs to be moisture available.
Misinformation spreading online has incorrectly associated this technique with certain droughts and floods. For example, a post on Reddit blamed floods in Spain on cloud seeding that was occurring in Morocco. The poster wrote: "I have trouble believing it's a coincidence this time, with the timing of this."
This is not the first time that cloud seeding has been blamed for flooding, and it is a popular topic among some conspiracy communities, but the truth is there is no link between the two.
Scientists have regularly debunked this theory, and a study by the World Meteorological Association in 2019 estimated that cloud seeding, in fact, only increases rainfall by 20% on average at most, which is not considered enough to cause the floods in question.
The increase in extreme weather events that we are observing globally, including heavy rainfall and flooding, has been predicted by the scientific community for years because of increasing global temperatures as a result of climate change.
Continuing to pollute our atmosphere is causing the planet to warm, and this doesn't only cause an increase in temperature but can also increase the amount of water the air can hold, leading to more intense rainfall and flooding in some places. According to a report by the International Panel on Climate Change, extreme daily precipitation events are likely to increase by about 7% for every 1 degree Celsius (1.8 degree Fahrenheit) our planet warms.
One commenter was quick to highlight that the more likely cause of this was global warming, writing: "Y'all will blame anyone except the oil and agricultural companies that created a climate in which intense weather events are likely to occur frequently."
Another wrote: "Look at the sea temperature. Hotter seas equals more storms and more rain."
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