Officials in China concerned by a recent drought in parts of the country are firing rockets towards clouds in a bid to spur artificial rainfall.
Workers with the Meteorological Authority in Qingzhen city, southern China, have been armed with rockets which contain chemicals that spur precipitation.
The workers have fired the rockets skywards in an attempt to bring wet relief to the drought-ravaged region near Guizhou province.
Ready, aim, fire: A Chinese reserve worker prepares a rocket as China tackles its drought by 'cloud seeding'
Lift off: The cloud seeding technique works by firing rain-inducing chemicals into clouds
Guizhou, along with Hunan province, has faced droughts this summer due to lack of rainfall.
The process of trying to stimulate rain - known as cloud seeding - is not uncommon worldwide and has been done before in China's particularly arid regions.
Is it thought that China used cloud seeding before the 2008 Olympics to rid the air of pollution, but this has been disputed.
The most common chemicals used in cloud seeding are silver iodide and dry ice (frozen carbon dioxide).
In November 2009, Chinese officials used cloud seeding to again end a drought in the country.
However, the technique was used to such an extent that the planned precipitation eventually came down as snow, blanketing Beijing in the earliest covering in a decade.
Heavy weaponry: Chinese authorities have previously used cloud seeding to end droughts in November 2009
Drastic measures: The Guizhou and Hunan provinces have experienced droughts in recent months, leading the Chinese to their unique solution
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2022884/No-rain-No-problem--just-army-missiles-clouds-How-China-deals-drought.html#ixzz1j6hlHCat
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