In response to the persistent high temperature and dry weather, southern China’s Chongqing city has successfully carried out artificial rain enhancement or cloud seeding in 17 districts and counties on Sept 2, but at the same time, 20 districts and counties were also hit by strong winds of more than 8.

According to the Chongqing Meteorological Bureau, from 14:00 to 0:00 on September 2, 17 districts and counties carried out artificial rain enhancement operations, and there was generally small to moderate rain in the operation area, and even heavy rain in the local area, which played a certain role in alleviating the current drought and reducing temperatures.

However, in the same period of time, the wind weather in 20 districts and counties in Chongqing caused many street trees to be blown down, outdoor billboards were also blown down, and multiple houses and buildings were damaged to varying degrees, which had a certain impact on the life and travel of citizens.

For the question of whether the artificial rain enhancement operation is related to the windy weather, the Chongqing Meteorological Bureau and a number of meteorological experts said that there is no direct relationship between the two. The main method of cloud seeding is to promote the condensation of water vapor into cloud water by seeding catalysts, thereby increasing precipitation. The gale weather is mainly due to the natural thermal convection phenomenon, is a manifestation of strong convection weather, and has no direct relationship with artificial rainfall.

Meteorologists also pointed out that recently Chongqing area is affected by the unstable energy of the atmosphere, and it is easy to have strong convection weather from afternoon to night. Under this weather condition, the clouds are thickened and the water vapor is abundant, which is very conducive to the development of artificial rain enhancement. However, severe convective weather itself can also bring extreme weather phenomena such as hail, gusty winds, and short-term heavy precipitation. Therefore, the appearance of strong winds is mainly due to the release of unstable energy in the atmosphere.

The video was provided with permission from local media.

近日，重庆市为应对持续的高温干旱天气，在17个区县成功开展了人工增雨作业，但与此同时，20个区县也遭遇了8级以上的大风天气。

据重庆市气象局介绍，9月2日14时至3日02时，黔江、沙坪坝、北碚、渝北、巴南等17个区县进行了人工增雨作业，共发射高炮弹158枚、火箭弹37枚，并燃烧了烟条24根。作业区域普遍出现了小到中雨，局地甚至出现了大雨，雨量在0.1毫米至31.4毫米之间，对于缓解当前旱情、降低气温起到了一定的作用。

然而，在同一时间段内，重庆市有20个区县的70个气象观测站监测到了8级以上阵性大风。其中，綦江永新在2日18时出现了最大风速，达到了34.4米/秒，相当于12级大风。大风天气导致了不少行道树被吹倒，户外广告牌也被吹落，多个房屋建筑也有不同程度受损，给市民的生活和出行带来了一定的影响。

对于人工增雨作业与大风天气是否有关联的疑问，重庆市气象局及多位气象专家均表示，两者并无直接关系。人工增雨主要是通过向云层中播撒催化剂来促进水汽凝结成云水，从而增加降水量。而大风天气则主要是由于自然的热对流现象产生的，是强对流天气的一种表现，与人工增雨作业无直接关系。

气象专家还指出，近期重庆地区受大气不稳定能量的影响，午后到夜间容易出现强对流天气。这种天气条件下，云层增厚、水汽充沛，非常有利于人工增雨作业的开展。然而，强对流天气本身也会带来冰雹、阵性大风、短时强降水等极端天气现象。因此，大风天气的出现主要是由于大气不稳定能量的释放所致。