Tasnim � Iran�s minister of energy said the country has started to produce canisters used for cloud seeding.


Speaking to reporters in Tehran on Sunday, Reza Ardekanian said Iran has made good advances in cloud seeding operations.

Iran used to import�canisters launched for seeding�clouds�but has now begun to manufacture them by using local capacities, the minister added.

Frequent droughts and low rainfall in Iran in recent years have forced the administration to opt for cloud seeding in the hope of squeezing more precipitation out of the atmosphere.

Cloud seeding originated in the US in the 1940s. The method generally used in the winter involves ground-based generators set at high elevations that are literally fired up to release plumes containing silver iodide crystals into storm clouds. When water vapor or droplets attach to the silver iodide crystal, latent heat is also released, and it increases cloud size and the duration of storms.

Global warming has forced many arid and semi-arid areas around the world, including Iran, to suffer from drought.