February 12, 2009
China sends third air force craft to try making rain
A third air force freighter plane will try to cause rain during the coming week in China's drought-stricken Hubei Province, the Xinhua news agency cited a local meteorological officer as saying Wednesday (February 11).
Hubei Weather Modification Office chief engineer Xu Yonghe was speaking in the city of Wuhan, where he was equipping the An-26 freighter plane with rain enhancement equipment at Yangluo Airport, the official Chinese news agency said.
Xu said the equipment included cloud-seeding gear and a GPS system, the news agency said, adding that officials plan to create a shower between February 12 and 14, and another between February 15 and 17.
China is experiencing its worst drought in five decades, affecting about 9.1 million hectares of wheat in eight provinces and leaving 3.5 million people and 1.66 million livestock with no access to drinking water, Xinhua said.
