China to Force Rain Ahead of Olympics – AP

Chance of showers during the 2008 Beijing Olympics: 50 percent. But Chinese meteorologists have a plan to bring sunshine, via AP:

The meteorologists say they can force rain in the days before the Olympics, through a process known as cloud-seeding, to clean the air and ensure clear skies. China has been tinkering with artificial rainmaking for decades, but whether it works is a matter of debate among scientists.

Weather patterns for the past 30 years indicate there is a 50 percent chance of rain for both the opening ceremony on Aug. 8, 2008 and the closing ceremony two weeks later, said Wang Yubin, an engineer with the Beijing Meteorological Bureau

In 2003, the U.S. National Academy of Sciences questioned the science behind cloud-seeding as “too weak.” But China frequently uses artificial rainmaking in the drought-plagued north.[Full Text]

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