http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp...ing&sec=latest

Sweltering Shanghai's rain making attempts finally succeed

SHANGHAI, China: Shanghai successfully induced rain showers by firing
chemicals into clouds, snapping a heat wave that has severely strained
electricity supplies, the city said Wednesday.

Rain fell Tuesday afternoon after a plane shot more than 200 kilograms
(440 pounds) of silver iodide into clouds, according to a statement on
the city government's Web site. Those showers sparked natural storms
that soaked large parts of the city with over 10 millimeters (about
1/2 inch) of rain, it said.

The cooling effect was immediate: Wednesday's high temperature was
forecast at 31 degrees (88 degrees Fahrenheit), down from previous
highs of around 35 degrees Celsius (95 degrees Fahrenheit) in recent
days.

Weeks of blazing temperatures have worsened an expected electricity
deficit of about 4 million kilowatts in Shanghai this summer -- enough
power to light 4 million homes -- forcing power rationing to thousands
of factories.

Shanghai has budgeted 4.7 million yuan (US$573,000) for cloud seeding,
storing 3,000 silver iodide shells have been stored at a military
airport in the nearby city of Wuxi.

Tuesday's successful cloud seeding attempt followed three previous
experiments over the city that produced little rain.--AP