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| Scientists 'cause' Beijing snow | |
| (about 5 hours later) | |
| Chinese meteorologists say they brought about Beijing's earliest snowfall in a decade, after seeding rain clouds with silver iodide to ease a drought. | |
| The Weather Modification Office sprayed clouds with 186 doses of the chemical to bring rain for the wheat crop, the Beijing Evening News said. | |
| But the arrival of a cold front caused heavy snow to fall, disrupting road, rail and air travel. | But the arrival of a cold front caused heavy snow to fall, disrupting road, rail and air travel. |
| Cloud seeding is often used in China in an attempt to bring on rain. | |
| The country's north is prone to droughts, while the south is often flooded. | The country's north is prone to droughts, while the south is often flooded. |
| In Anhui province, which has been having a drought since September, there was 4cm (1.5in) of rainfall at the weekend. | In Anhui province, which has been having a drought since September, there was 4cm (1.5in) of rainfall at the weekend. |
| Much of the country's farming still relies on rainfall as many of its communities have a poor irrigation system. | Much of the country's farming still relies on rainfall as many of its communities have a poor irrigation system. |
| In February, snow fell after the authorities seeded clouds over Beijing in an attempt to alleviate the dry conditions. | |
| However, many scientists - particularly in the UK - remain highly sceptical of the effectiveness of cloud seeding. | |
| Even if it is theoretically possible, one of the problems for proponents has been to demonstrate that a rainfall or snowfall was caused by the seeding or simply occurred spontaneously. | |
| In addition to cloud seeding, the government is building a huge network of tunnels and waterways that will funnel water from the south to the north, but the project is still five years from completion. | In addition to cloud seeding, the government is building a huge network of tunnels and waterways that will funnel water from the south to the north, but the project is still five years from completion. |
| Are you in Beijing? Are you surprised by the snow? Send us your stories using the form below. | Are you in Beijing? Are you surprised by the snow? Send us your stories using the form below. |
| You can also send us your pictures and videos of Beijing in the snow to yourpics@bbc.co.uk or text them to +44 7725 100 100. If you have a large file you can upload here. | You can also send us your pictures and videos of Beijing in the snow to yourpics@bbc.co.uk or text them to +44 7725 100 100. If you have a large file you can upload here. |
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