几个世纪以来，人类一直试图控制天气。比如，人们认为人工降雨可以带来好处。

 

The weather affects all of us. An unexpected downpour or hot spell can be annoying, but when conditions are more extreme, it can severely¹ impact agriculture, transport infrastructure² and our homes. It's no surprise that for centuries scientists have tried to control the weather – but is it really possible?

 

Due to climate change, there are more regular occurrences of heatwaves, which cause droughts, and torrential rain, which is responsible for flooding. Although humans are the cause of much of it, maybe we have a solution too? For example, China, the UAE and the USA are at the forefront of research into methods of producing rain in drought-stricken areas. And some scientists are even thinking about investigating technologies which could cool the entire planet.

 

It might sound like science fiction, but weather modification³ is nothing new. In the 1940s, scientists discovered that dropping particles of silver iodide into cloud tops, made the tiny water droplets⁴ condense and could stimulate⁵ precipitation. That's called cloud seeding. This is a technique still being tested today with the aim of producing extra rainfall and, therefore, water for drought-affected farmers.

 

Other ideas for keeping nature at bay include using lasers to generate clouds and for controlling thunderstorms. One idea involved firing laser pulses into thunderclouds in an attempt to suck out lightning in a controlled manner. This was unsuccessful. New research into solar geoengineering has also begun. This type of climate engineering involves sunlight being reflected back to space to limit or reverse human-caused climate change.

 

Despite all this ongoing⁶ research, there's no conclusive⁷ evidence that our weather can be controlled. Chris Bell, a lecturer in meteorology at the University of East Anglia, told BBC Future: "We may, one day, have the technology to control the weather, but it will be in thousands, not hundreds, of years." So, for now, we still need to rely on Mother Nature to control our weather.

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