Amid severe drought conditions, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez says that hewill begin to use cloud seeding to cause precipitation in the country, becominglatest nation to engage in the controversial process.The Associated Press is reporting that Venezuela has received cloud-seedingequipment from personal friend Fidel Castro and Cuban President Raul Castro.
Venezuela is known to furnish Cuba with subsidized oil.
"Any cloud that comes in my way, I'll hurl a lightning bolt at it," Chavez saidin a televised speech. "Tonight I'm going out to bombard."Cloud seeding attempts to alter weather conditions by spreading substances intothe air to either increase or decrease precipitation. Its effectiveness iswidely disputed because it cannot be known whether the precipitation, or lackthereof, would have occurred without the seeding.
The rainy period for the Venezuela and northern Colombia region typically lastsfrom May to November, so the drought is likely to intensify over the next fourto five months as the dry season begins in December.
In addition to putting a further strain on regular water usage for thepopulation, worsening drought conditions could increase already common poweroutages in Venezuela, as most of the electricity in the country comes fromhydroelectric dams.
Chavez has been immersed in a political battle over usable water as it becomesscarcer during the drought. His opposition has blamed the government forfailing to produce adequate infrastructure for water and energy under hiswatch. Water and energy rationing were instituted recently in Caracas,Venezuela's capital.
Chavez did not mention a timetable for implementing the cloud-seedingproject.
Story by AccuWeather.com's Jon Auciello
