Survey of Weather Modification in the Soviet Union

Abstract

On the basis of a review of abstracts of articles published mostly since 1969, a summary has been prepared of Soviet research in weather modification. A wide spectrum of problems is being studied. Hail suppression and precipitation stimulation still are major areas of activity in the USSR. In recent years, Soviet scientists have begun research on the lightning suppression, the dissipation of convective clouds, and the use of heat for the dissipation of warm fog and stratus. The articles surveyed show little evidence that Soviet scientists, unlike their American counterparts, are convinced of the value of randomized experiments in the evaluation of cloud-seeding hypotheses. There is no evidence in this literature that the modification of large scale weather phenomena is being actively investigated in the Soviet Union.