Will we ever… control the weather?

BBC Future

Image: KittyKaht

With 2,000 drummers, 15,000 other performers and vast quantities of fireworks, the opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympics was a dazzling spectacle. It was also a dry one. In the run-up to the event, held during the rainy season, the Chinese authorities fired 1,100 rockets into the skies in an effort to intercept and trigger downpours before they reached the capital city.

The night of the ceremony saw 100mm (4in) of rain fall on the nearby city of Baoding, but none in Beijing. Proof positive that we can successfully control the weather, say many, but how true is this? Read more on the BBC Future website…