Don't rain on my parade

Can we really control the weather? The implications are scary and complicated, but we should be researching the idea for use in a responsible way

- Robin Hanbury-Tenison

WE know that the climate is changing as a result of our activities and that this is beginning to happen at an accelerating pace, but it is still a slow process, whereas weather can change in an instant. All over the world, scientists and politicians are working on ways to modify the climate by slowing down the heating of the atmosphere, which is now becoming manifest. Suggesting that we might try and manage local weather, however, is usually met with either cynicism or alarm—and quite rightly so, as it is a complicated challenge and the implications of bringing it about are scary. Nonetheless, I do believe that we should be putting much more effort and resources into examining the possibilities.

Surprisingly few people know that weather management has been going on for a long time. It has throughout human history been an important part of the role of chiefs and kings to be responsible for the weather, but it is only since the Second World War that modern science has come into play. This has mainly been secret—and sometimes disastrous—research carried out by the military in various countries, such as the US during the Vietnam war and China during their hosting of the Olympic Games in 2008.