[The Hwankyung Ilbo] The Korea Meteorological Administration explained about the controversy over environmental pollution of silver iodide used in artificial rain, saying, “It is widely used internationally, and it has been reported that there are no harmful effects such as human bodies or ecosystem disruptions as it is sprayed in very small quantities.”

Roelof Brintez, an expert on climate control at the World Meteorological Organization who recently visited Korea and attended a debate at the National Assembly, said when asked about the harmfulness of silver iodide, the U.S. experimented with it for more than 60 years, but it had no effect.

The Korea Meteorological Administration established an artificial rain experiment plan for 2019 in last December. It also established a cooperative plan with the Ministry of Environment on January 17 for scientific analysis of the artificial rain’s effect on reducing fine dust and conducted an experiment on January 25.

An official of the Korea Meteorological Administration said, “The total of 15 artificial rain experiments planned this year will be a stage of accumulation of technology to secure water resources and prepare for drought in various weather conditions.”

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