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28 May 24
17:10
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Date Joined:
01 Mar 07
12c here and half the feckin garden is under water.
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What about when they say, it's been the wettest/hottest for 200 odd years which is supposed to emphasize that we are now experiencing global warming.
So what were we experiencing 200 odd years ago then when that record was set?
So what were we experiencing 200 odd years ago then when that record was set?
Get with it duffy. They boxed themselves in with 'global warming' and changed it to climate change.
Bingo! It's always changing so they can never be wrong, a masterstroke.
Bingo! It's always changing so they can never be wrong, a masterstroke.
Those chappies walking around with the sandwich boards in days gone by saying The End Of The World Is Nigh were the forerunners and don’t appear so crazy now that it’s the new fad.
Whats your opinion on it then sparrow..... everyone is entitled to an opinion even if (suprise suprise) it doesnt correlate with your opinion. Personally I feel the whole climate change agenda is a way of controlling the masses in the long run and a way of making a few quid also at the expense of the ordinary person in the street.
Who is making the vast sums of which you speak?
Pray tell me where to invest to share these untold riches?
Do you think we should be burning coal?
Pray tell me where to invest to share these untold riches?
Do you think we should be burning coal?
Media spout lies FACT
But not in this case FACT
Glaciers are melting and disappearing FACT
Doubters on the Martian Betting Forum millions of years ago are not here now.
God made a big mistake when he made human beings custodians of this beautiful Planet we live on.
Mankind destroys everything for money, money, money.
Think of your grandkids and their grandkids and their grandkids.
But not in this case FACT
Glaciers are melting and disappearing FACT
Doubters on the Martian Betting Forum millions of years ago are not here now.
God made a big mistake when he made human beings custodians of this beautiful Planet we live on.
Mankind destroys everything for money, money, money.
Think of your grandkids and their grandkids and their grandkids.
A guy called Noah is walking around my area saying we should be preparing for a great flood.
Glaciers melt, that's what happens to ice as it flows from colder higher regions to lower areas. If all the alarmist melting was real the sea levels would be visibly rising but there is very little evidence this is hap.The evidence shows some warming causing expansion in some areas but this is not due to melting ice caps or glaciers.
Some areas like the Pacific islands (sand bars) can be affected by wind changes and tectonic plate shift that give the impression of rising sea.
In fact some areas with big glaciers that have visibly reduced see the opposite due to reduced mass and reduced gravitational pull, the ice melts and sea level drops.
In the Himalayas the Glaciers are increasing, the region is cooling, please explain dat.
"Melting Glaciers" are not evidence of man made global warming, not saying man has not made a mess, he has and is very poor at cleaning up behind him.
Some areas like the Pacific islands (sand bars) can be affected by wind changes and tectonic plate shift that give the impression of rising sea.
In fact some areas with big glaciers that have visibly reduced see the opposite due to reduced mass and reduced gravitational pull, the ice melts and sea level drops.
In the Himalayas the Glaciers are increasing, the region is cooling, please explain dat.
"Melting Glaciers" are not evidence of man made global warming, not saying man has not made a mess, he has and is very poor at cleaning up behind him.
sparrow no opinion then.....just comes on pulling a funny face......very interesting
A BBC investigation from 2001...What really happened at Lynmouth in 1952?
RAF rainmakers 'caused 1952 flood'
Unearthed documents suggest experiment triggered torrent that killed 35 in Devon disaster
On August 15, 1952, one of the worst flash floods ever to have occurred in Britain swept through the Devon village of Lynmouth. Thirty five people died as a torrent of 90m tons of water and thousands of tons of rock poured off saturated Exmoor and into the village destroying homes, bridges, shops and hotels.
The disaster was officially termed "the hand of God" but new evidence from previously classified government files suggests that a team of international scientists working with the RAF was experimenting with artificial rainmaking in southern Britain in the same week and could possibly be implicated.
Squadron Leader Len Otley, who was working on what was known as Operation Cumulus, has told the BBC that they jokingly referred to the rainmaking exercise as Operation Witch Doctor.
His navigator, Group Captain John Hart, remembers the success of these early experiments: "We flew straight through the top of the cloud, poured dry ice down into the cloud. We flew down to see if any rain came out of the cloud. And it did about 30 minutes later, and we all cheered."
The meteorological office has in the past denied there were any rainmaking experiments conducted before 1955, but a BBC Radio 4 history investigation, to be broadcast tonight, has unearthed documents recently released at the public record office showing that they were going on from 1949 to 1955. RAF logbooks and personnel corroborate the evidence.
Until now, the Ministry of Defence has categorically denied knowledge of any cloud-seeding experiments taking place in the UK during early August 1952. But documents suggest that Operation Cumulus was going on between August 4 and August 15 1952. The scientists were based at Cranfield school of aeronautics and worked in collaboration with the RAF and the MoD's meteorological research flight based at Farnborough. The chemicals were provided by ICI in Billingham.
Met office reports from these dates describe flights undertaken to collect data on cumulus cloud temperature, water content, icing rate, vertical motions and turbulence, and water droplet and ice crystal formation. There is no mention of cloud seeding.
But a 50-year-old radio broadcast unearthed by Radio 4 describes an aeronautical engineer and glider pilot, Alan Yates, working with Operation Cumulus at the time and flying over Bedfordshire, spraying quantities of salt. He was elated when the scientists told him this had led to a heavy downpour 50 miles away over Staines, in Middlesex.
"I was told that the rain had been the heaviest for several years - and all out of a sky which looked summery ... there was no disguising the fact that the seedsman had said he'd make it rain, and he did. Toasts were drunk to meteorology and it was not until the BBC news bulletin [about Lynmouth] was read later on, that a stony silence fell on the company," said Mr Yates at the time.
Operation Cumulus was put on hold indefinitely after the tragedy.
Declassified minutes from an air ministry meeting, held in the war office on November 3, 1953, show why the military were interested in increasing rain and snow by artificial means. The list of possible uses included "bogging down enemy movement", "incrementing the water flow in rivers and streams to hinder or stop enemy crossings", and clearing fog from airfields.
The documents also talk of rainmaking having a potential "to explode an atomic weapon in a seeded storm system or cloud. This would produce a far wider area of radioactive contamination than in a normal atomic explosion".
UK weather modification experiments at the time presaged current practice in the US. The idea was to target "super cool" clouds, and to increase the volume of freezing water vapour particles. Most methods involved firing particles of salt, dry ice, or silver iodide, into clouds, either from an aeroplane or from burners on the ground. The clouds would then precipitate, pulled down below freezing point by the extra weight of dense particles, thus making it rain sooner and heavier than it might have done. Significantly, it was claimed that silver iodide could cause a downpour up to 300 miles away.
Many countries now use the technology, which has considerably improved during the past 50 years.
But controversy still surrounds the efficacy of these early cloud-seeding experiments. In 1955 questions were asked in the Commons about the possibilites of liability and compensation claims. Documents seen by the BBC suggest that both the air ministry and the Treasury became very anxious and were aware that rainmaking could cause damage, not just to military targets and personnel, but also to civilians.
The British Geological Survey has recently examined soil sediments in the district of Lynmouth to see if any silver or iodide residues remain. The testing has been limited due to restrictions in place because of foot and mouth disease, and it is inconclusive. However, silver residue has been discovered in the catchment waters of the river Lyn. The BGS will investigate further over the next 18 months.
Survivors of the Lynmouth flood called for - but never got - a full investigation into the causes of the disaster. Rumours persist to this day of planes circling before the inundation.
https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2001/aug/30/sillyseason.physicalsciences
RAF rainmakers 'caused 1952 flood'
Unearthed documents suggest experiment triggered torrent that killed 35 in Devon disaster
On August 15, 1952, one of the worst flash floods ever to have occurred in Britain swept through the Devon village of Lynmouth. Thirty five people died as a torrent of 90m tons of water and thousands of tons of rock poured off saturated Exmoor and into the village destroying homes, bridges, shops and hotels.
The disaster was officially termed "the hand of God" but new evidence from previously classified government files suggests that a team of international scientists working with the RAF was experimenting with artificial rainmaking in southern Britain in the same week and could possibly be implicated.
Squadron Leader Len Otley, who was working on what was known as Operation Cumulus, has told the BBC that they jokingly referred to the rainmaking exercise as Operation Witch Doctor.
His navigator, Group Captain John Hart, remembers the success of these early experiments: "We flew straight through the top of the cloud, poured dry ice down into the cloud. We flew down to see if any rain came out of the cloud. And it did about 30 minutes later, and we all cheered."
The meteorological office has in the past denied there were any rainmaking experiments conducted before 1955, but a BBC Radio 4 history investigation, to be broadcast tonight, has unearthed documents recently released at the public record office showing that they were going on from 1949 to 1955. RAF logbooks and personnel corroborate the evidence.
Until now, the Ministry of Defence has categorically denied knowledge of any cloud-seeding experiments taking place in the UK during early August 1952. But documents suggest that Operation Cumulus was going on between August 4 and August 15 1952. The scientists were based at Cranfield school of aeronautics and worked in collaboration with the RAF and the MoD's meteorological research flight based at Farnborough. The chemicals were provided by ICI in Billingham.
Met office reports from these dates describe flights undertaken to collect data on cumulus cloud temperature, water content, icing rate, vertical motions and turbulence, and water droplet and ice crystal formation. There is no mention of cloud seeding.
But a 50-year-old radio broadcast unearthed by Radio 4 describes an aeronautical engineer and glider pilot, Alan Yates, working with Operation Cumulus at the time and flying over Bedfordshire, spraying quantities of salt. He was elated when the scientists told him this had led to a heavy downpour 50 miles away over Staines, in Middlesex.
"I was told that the rain had been the heaviest for several years - and all out of a sky which looked summery ... there was no disguising the fact that the seedsman had said he'd make it rain, and he did. Toasts were drunk to meteorology and it was not until the BBC news bulletin [about Lynmouth] was read later on, that a stony silence fell on the company," said Mr Yates at the time.
Operation Cumulus was put on hold indefinitely after the tragedy.
Declassified minutes from an air ministry meeting, held in the war office on November 3, 1953, show why the military were interested in increasing rain and snow by artificial means. The list of possible uses included "bogging down enemy movement", "incrementing the water flow in rivers and streams to hinder or stop enemy crossings", and clearing fog from airfields.
The documents also talk of rainmaking having a potential "to explode an atomic weapon in a seeded storm system or cloud. This would produce a far wider area of radioactive contamination than in a normal atomic explosion".
UK weather modification experiments at the time presaged current practice in the US. The idea was to target "super cool" clouds, and to increase the volume of freezing water vapour particles. Most methods involved firing particles of salt, dry ice, or silver iodide, into clouds, either from an aeroplane or from burners on the ground. The clouds would then precipitate, pulled down below freezing point by the extra weight of dense particles, thus making it rain sooner and heavier than it might have done. Significantly, it was claimed that silver iodide could cause a downpour up to 300 miles away.
Many countries now use the technology, which has considerably improved during the past 50 years.
But controversy still surrounds the efficacy of these early cloud-seeding experiments. In 1955 questions were asked in the Commons about the possibilites of liability and compensation claims. Documents seen by the BBC suggest that both the air ministry and the Treasury became very anxious and were aware that rainmaking could cause damage, not just to military targets and personnel, but also to civilians.
The British Geological Survey has recently examined soil sediments in the district of Lynmouth to see if any silver or iodide residues remain. The testing has been limited due to restrictions in place because of foot and mouth disease, and it is inconclusive. However, silver residue has been discovered in the catchment waters of the river Lyn. The BGS will investigate further over the next 18 months.
Survivors of the Lynmouth flood called for - but never got - a full investigation into the causes of the disaster. Rumours persist to this day of planes circling before the inundation.
https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2001/aug/30/sillyseason.physicalsciences
What are they up to over 70 years later with advances in knowledge and technology?
Do you think they'll be making a public announcement about it?
Do you think they'll be making a public announcement about it?
They realised with the world cooling they couldn’t get away Global Warning much longer so re marketed it as Climate Change which covers everything.
Good summer - climate change
Too cold - climate change
Horse farts - climate change
Plane plunges hundreds of feet causing someone to die from a heart attack - climate change
Arsenal finish 2nd again - climate change
Quite impressive really…they created a trillion dollar industry out of nothing.
Also they get mad and upset when you point this out…even though I’m impressed with the evilness of it. I mean this high level Skeletor stuff imo lol
Good summer - climate change
Too cold - climate change
Horse farts - climate change
Plane plunges hundreds of feet causing someone to die from a heart attack - climate change
Arsenal finish 2nd again - climate change
Quite impressive really…they created a trillion dollar industry out of nothing.
Also they get mad and upset when you point this out…even though I’m impressed with the evilness of it. I mean this high level Skeletor stuff imo lol
Quite impressive really…they created a trillion dollar industry out of nothing.
This ^^
and beyond
Gotta keep that stock market ticking higher and the plebes under the thumb
This ^^
and beyond
Gotta keep that stock market ticking higher and the plebes under the thumb
Climate change deniers
Education: University of Life
Sources of information: Facebook memes, some bloke down the pub, stuff that just came into my head.
Education: University of Life
Sources of information: Facebook memes, some bloke down the pub, stuff that just came into my head.
Nature balances things out. When it gets colder there is less evaporation of the seas resulting in
a reduction in cloud cover which means more sunshine and warming. As it gets warmer cloud cover
increases thereby resulting in temperatures dropping. One massive volcano eruption could finish us all.
I have no scientific background or knowledge. If someone can prove my theory to be wrong please post
the proof on here! And don't just say 'The science is clear and undisputable'.
a reduction in cloud cover which means more sunshine and warming. As it gets warmer cloud cover
increases thereby resulting in temperatures dropping. One massive volcano eruption could finish us all.
I have no scientific background or knowledge. If someone can prove my theory to be wrong please post
the proof on here! And don't just say 'The science is clear and undisputable'.
And what is your source of information Die Linke?
By the way I don't deny climate change....it has been happening on earth since the big bang.
By the way I don't deny climate change....it has been happening on earth since the big bang.
Too right, DIE LINKE, you just ignore them and listen to 'trusted' sources of information like the TV doctors who told you the AZ jabs were 100% safe and effective.
and freely available to all 5 year olds who so desperately needed it
Wet weather = global warming.
Dry weather = global warming.
Hot weather = global warming.
Cold weather = global warming.
''99% of scientists can't be wrong.'' Even that's a lie.
Dry weather = global warming.
Hot weather = global warming.
Cold weather = global warming.
''99% of scientists can't be wrong.'' Even that's a lie.
UK had its warmest May and spring on record
While it was a wet and dull season for many, the Met Office said May's average mean temperature of 13.1C for the UK beat 2008's previous record figure of 12.1C.
A Met Office spokesperson said: "While it may not have felt like it for many, with sunshine in relatively short supply, provisional figures show May was the warmest on record in our series back to 1884.
https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/uknews/uk-had-its-warmest-may-and-spring-on-record/ar-BB1nxrzw
Mainly due to warmer nights rather than days, apparently. It was also a particularly wet spring.
While it was a wet and dull season for many, the Met Office said May's average mean temperature of 13.1C for the UK beat 2008's previous record figure of 12.1C.
A Met Office spokesperson said: "While it may not have felt like it for many, with sunshine in relatively short supply, provisional figures show May was the warmest on record in our series back to 1884.
https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/uknews/uk-had-its-warmest-may-and-spring-on-record/ar-BB1nxrzw
Mainly due to warmer nights rather than days, apparently. It was also a particularly wet spring.
Yes, cloud cover helping night temps but has been a very unusual last three years weather, the triple dip la nina not really been explained or understood imo.
Still a big gap in the factor oceans play on climate and weather.
Need to run more data, another million years at least
Still a big gap in the factor oceans play on climate and weather.
Need to run more data, another million years at least
****g feezing here today, just proves the fake news and utter rubbish we hear these 
days, its the hottest may in records ,
days, its the hottest may in records ,
wac of a fred. the 'sheer evileness of it' says el goon
funny how conspriacy loons arent very selective. everything is. 'they' are all in it and as usual they keep their evil plans secret and terrify the scientific community into making stuff up. no. of states worldwide that do not say its a big and worsening problem = 0, even the evil ones like china
in common with others on this fred im a regular reader of new scientist magazine, and theyve been droning on about this fiction for a long time, and in some detail. just shows how bad things are when distinguished academics have been so corrupted by fear. along with nobel scientists, who should know better. gnome awe from me on this; you wanchors are so fecking fick
funny how conspriacy loons arent very selective. everything is. 'they' are all in it and as usual they keep their evil plans secret and terrify the scientific community into making stuff up. no. of states worldwide that do not say its a big and worsening problem = 0, even the evil ones like china
in common with others on this fred im a regular reader of new scientist magazine, and theyve been droning on about this fiction for a long time, and in some detail. just shows how bad things are when distinguished academics have been so corrupted by fear. along with nobel scientists, who should know better. gnome awe from me on this; you wanchors are so fecking fick
Sounds like the heat pump broken already Don't worry only another 12 grand you win that from your footy accas so all good
Don't worry only another 12 grand you win that from your footy accas so all good
New Scientist..wow Mitolo, didn't know that is still going. When I was 19 I worked for About 6 months
at Punch magazine, which was also the New Scientist base. My job was to look at the order cards for
New Scientist sent in weekly by the shops and enter the numbers in a big ledger. Through a glass
divider facing me was a bloke who did the same for Punch.
It was to put it mildly not the most challenging job!
I thought to myself, 'what am I doing ' and then saw full page ads in the press,'immigrate to Canada,
land of opportunity. What an adventure for a 19 year old. Couldn't get to Canada House quickly
enough.
at Punch magazine, which was also the New Scientist base. My job was to look at the order cards for
New Scientist sent in weekly by the shops and enter the numbers in a big ledger. Through a glass
divider facing me was a bloke who did the same for Punch.
It was to put it mildly not the most challenging job!
I thought to myself, 'what am I doing ' and then saw full page ads in the press,'immigrate to Canada,
land of opportunity. What an adventure for a 19 year old. Couldn't get to Canada House quickly
enough.
From the New Scientist
https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg20527463-300-bill-gates-digs-deep-for-geoengineering/
THE world’s richest man has been funding geoengineering research, it emerged last week. According to a report posted online by Science, Bill Gates has committed $4.5 million of his own money to funding a number of climate scientists interested in geoengineering.
It is not clear whether all of that has gone to geoengineering studies. Atmospheric scientist Ken Caldeira of the Carnegie Institution for Science in Stanford, California, says he received $1.1 million over three years for “blue skies” research. He estimates about one-third of that was spent on investigating geoengineering.
Caldeira says he sees no moral dilemmas in Gates funding…
https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg20527463-300-bill-gates-digs-deep-for-geoengineering/
THE world’s richest man has been funding geoengineering research, it emerged last week. According to a report posted online by Science, Bill Gates has committed $4.5 million of his own money to funding a number of climate scientists interested in geoengineering.
It is not clear whether all of that has gone to geoengineering studies. Atmospheric scientist Ken Caldeira of the Carnegie Institution for Science in Stanford, California, says he received $1.1 million over three years for “blue skies” research. He estimates about one-third of that was spent on investigating geoengineering.
Caldeira says he sees no moral dilemmas in Gates funding…
Which reminds me, the Lynmouth disaster of 1952
A BBC investigation using declassified government documents:
RAF rainmakers 'caused 1952 flood'
Unearthed documents suggest experiment triggered torrent that killed 35 in Devon disaster
On August 15, 1952, one of the worst flash floods ever to have occurred in Britain swept through the Devon village of Lynmouth. Thirty five people died as a torrent of 90m tons of water and thousands of tons of rock poured off saturated Exmoor and into the village destroying homes, bridges, shops and hotels.
The disaster was officially termed "the hand of God" but new evidence from previously classified government files suggests that a team of international scientists working with the RAF was experimenting with artificial rainmaking in southern Britain in the same week and could possibly be implicated.
Squadron Leader Len Otley, who was working on what was known as Operation Cumulus, has told the BBC that they jokingly referred to the rainmaking exercise as Operation Witch Doctor.
His navigator, Group Captain John Hart, remembers the success of these early experiments: "We flew straight through the top of the cloud, poured dry ice down into the cloud. We flew down to see if any rain came out of the cloud. And it did about 30 minutes later, and we all cheered."
The meteorological office has in the past denied there were any rainmaking experiments conducted before 1955, but a BBC Radio 4 history investigation, to be broadcast tonight, has unearthed documents recently released at the public record office showing that they were going on from 1949 to 1955. RAF logbooks and personnel corroborate the evidence.
Until now, the Ministry of Defence has categorically denied knowledge of any cloud-seeding experiments taking place in the UK during early August 1952. But documents suggest that Operation Cumulus was going on between August 4 and August 15 1952. The scientists were based at Cranfield school of aeronautics and worked in collaboration with the RAF and the MoD's meteorological research flight based at Farnborough. The chemicals were provided by ICI in Billingham.
Met office reports from these dates describe flights undertaken to collect data on cumulus cloud temperature, water content, icing rate, vertical motions and turbulence, and water droplet and ice crystal formation. There is no mention of cloud seeding.
But a 50-year-old radio broadcast unearthed by Radio 4 describes an aeronautical engineer and glider pilot, Alan Yates, working with Operation Cumulus at the time and flying over Bedfordshire, spraying quantities of salt. He was elated when the scientists told him this had led to a heavy downpour 50 miles away over Staines, in Middlesex.
"I was told that the rain had been the heaviest for several years - and all out of a sky which looked summery ... there was no disguising the fact that the seedsman had said he'd make it rain, and he did. Toasts were drunk to meteorology and it was not until the BBC news bulletin [about Lynmouth] was read later on, that a stony silence fell on the company," said Mr Yates at the time.
Operation Cumulus was put on hold indefinitely after the tragedy.
Declassified minutes from an air ministry meeting, held in the war office on November 3, 1953, show why the military were interested in increasing rain and snow by artificial means. The list of possible uses included "bogging down enemy movement", "incrementing the water flow in rivers and streams to hinder or stop enemy crossings", and clearing fog from airfields.
The documents also talk of rainmaking having a potential "to explode an atomic weapon in a seeded storm system or cloud. This would produce a far wider area of radioactive contamination than in a normal atomic explosion".
UK weather modification experiments at the time presaged current practice in the US. The idea was to target "super cool" clouds, and to increase the volume of freezing water vapour particles. Most methods involved firing particles of salt, dry ice, or silver iodide, into clouds, either from an aeroplane or from burners on the ground. The clouds would then precipitate, pulled down below freezing point by the extra weight of dense particles, thus making it rain sooner and heavier than it might have done. Significantly, it was claimed that silver iodide could cause a downpour up to 300 miles away.
Many countries now use the technology, which has considerably improved during the past 50 years.
But controversy still surrounds the efficacy of these early cloud-seeding experiments. In 1955 questions were asked in the Commons about the possibilites of liability and compensation claims. Documents seen by the BBC suggest that both the air ministry and the Treasury became very anxious and were aware that rainmaking could cause damage, not just to military targets and personnel, but also to civilians.
The British Geological Survey has recently examined soil sediments in the district of Lynmouth to see if any silver or iodide residues remain. The testing has been limited due to restrictions in place because of foot and mouth disease, and it is inconclusive. However, silver residue has been discovered in the catchment waters of the river Lyn. The BGS will investigate further over the next 18 months.
Survivors of the Lynmouth flood called for - but never got - a full investigation into the causes of the disaster. Rumours persist to this day of planes circling before the inundation.
A BBC investigation using declassified government documents:
RAF rainmakers 'caused 1952 flood'
Unearthed documents suggest experiment triggered torrent that killed 35 in Devon disaster
On August 15, 1952, one of the worst flash floods ever to have occurred in Britain swept through the Devon village of Lynmouth. Thirty five people died as a torrent of 90m tons of water and thousands of tons of rock poured off saturated Exmoor and into the village destroying homes, bridges, shops and hotels.
The disaster was officially termed "the hand of God" but new evidence from previously classified government files suggests that a team of international scientists working with the RAF was experimenting with artificial rainmaking in southern Britain in the same week and could possibly be implicated.
Squadron Leader Len Otley, who was working on what was known as Operation Cumulus, has told the BBC that they jokingly referred to the rainmaking exercise as Operation Witch Doctor.
His navigator, Group Captain John Hart, remembers the success of these early experiments: "We flew straight through the top of the cloud, poured dry ice down into the cloud. We flew down to see if any rain came out of the cloud. And it did about 30 minutes later, and we all cheered."
The meteorological office has in the past denied there were any rainmaking experiments conducted before 1955, but a BBC Radio 4 history investigation, to be broadcast tonight, has unearthed documents recently released at the public record office showing that they were going on from 1949 to 1955. RAF logbooks and personnel corroborate the evidence.
Until now, the Ministry of Defence has categorically denied knowledge of any cloud-seeding experiments taking place in the UK during early August 1952. But documents suggest that Operation Cumulus was going on between August 4 and August 15 1952. The scientists were based at Cranfield school of aeronautics and worked in collaboration with the RAF and the MoD's meteorological research flight based at Farnborough. The chemicals were provided by ICI in Billingham.
Met office reports from these dates describe flights undertaken to collect data on cumulus cloud temperature, water content, icing rate, vertical motions and turbulence, and water droplet and ice crystal formation. There is no mention of cloud seeding.
But a 50-year-old radio broadcast unearthed by Radio 4 describes an aeronautical engineer and glider pilot, Alan Yates, working with Operation Cumulus at the time and flying over Bedfordshire, spraying quantities of salt. He was elated when the scientists told him this had led to a heavy downpour 50 miles away over Staines, in Middlesex.
"I was told that the rain had been the heaviest for several years - and all out of a sky which looked summery ... there was no disguising the fact that the seedsman had said he'd make it rain, and he did. Toasts were drunk to meteorology and it was not until the BBC news bulletin [about Lynmouth] was read later on, that a stony silence fell on the company," said Mr Yates at the time.
Operation Cumulus was put on hold indefinitely after the tragedy.
Declassified minutes from an air ministry meeting, held in the war office on November 3, 1953, show why the military were interested in increasing rain and snow by artificial means. The list of possible uses included "bogging down enemy movement", "incrementing the water flow in rivers and streams to hinder or stop enemy crossings", and clearing fog from airfields.
The documents also talk of rainmaking having a potential "to explode an atomic weapon in a seeded storm system or cloud. This would produce a far wider area of radioactive contamination than in a normal atomic explosion".
UK weather modification experiments at the time presaged current practice in the US. The idea was to target "super cool" clouds, and to increase the volume of freezing water vapour particles. Most methods involved firing particles of salt, dry ice, or silver iodide, into clouds, either from an aeroplane or from burners on the ground. The clouds would then precipitate, pulled down below freezing point by the extra weight of dense particles, thus making it rain sooner and heavier than it might have done. Significantly, it was claimed that silver iodide could cause a downpour up to 300 miles away.
Many countries now use the technology, which has considerably improved during the past 50 years.
But controversy still surrounds the efficacy of these early cloud-seeding experiments. In 1955 questions were asked in the Commons about the possibilites of liability and compensation claims. Documents seen by the BBC suggest that both the air ministry and the Treasury became very anxious and were aware that rainmaking could cause damage, not just to military targets and personnel, but also to civilians.
The British Geological Survey has recently examined soil sediments in the district of Lynmouth to see if any silver or iodide residues remain. The testing has been limited due to restrictions in place because of foot and mouth disease, and it is inconclusive. However, silver residue has been discovered in the catchment waters of the river Lyn. The BGS will investigate further over the next 18 months.
Survivors of the Lynmouth flood called for - but never got - a full investigation into the causes of the disaster. Rumours persist to this day of planes circling before the inundation.
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