China has entered a new stage of agricultural development by stepping up rainfall management in arid regions

China has stepped up weather management efforts to increase rainfall in the arid wheat-growing regions of the country’s north. Much-needed rains in China’s grain belt last week were brought about by the operations, according to the China Meteorological Administration. Ground and aerial operations were carried out in the provinces of Shaanxi and Shanxi, as well as Inner Mongolia, Bloomberg reported.

China is announcing the world’s largest weather modification program, ramping up investment in weather management in recent years as climate change increases risks to the country’s food security. The process involves spraying chemicals into clouds using planes and drones to increase rain and snowfall and suppress hail.

This year, China has increased the number of ground-based rainfall control operations by 20% compared to the same period in 2024. Thus, 32 rain-making operations using aviation were carried out in Qinghai, Inner Mongolia, Shaanxi and other provinces, with a total duration of 102 hours. 1,488 ground-based rain-making operations were carried out in Gansu, Shaanxi, Shanxi and other provinces. According to preliminary estimates, the operations affected an area of about 732,000 square kilometers and increased the amount of rainfall by about 560 million tons, Xinhua reported.

In 2025, a total of 553 aerial rainmaking operations and about 17,000 ground rainmaking operations were conducted in the country.

“Weather modification technology is an important part of building a weather superpower,” Li Jiming, director of the China Weather Modification Center, wrote in an article this week.