LANZHOU: A large unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), Ganlin-1, recently made a successful maiden flight for generating artificial precipitation in northwest China’s Gansu Province, in the latest efforts to use technology for ecological protection.
During the flight, Ganlin-1 conducted operations such as atmospheric detection and catalyst spreading to generate precipitation.
“The use of UAVs for precipitation enhancement will help increase ice and snow reserves, promote the ecological restoration and protection of the Qilian Mountains and mitigate water shortage in parts of Gansu Province,” said Wang Chenghai, a professor at Lanzhou University, adding the glaciers and snow resources of the mountain range are shrinking as a result of climate change. The deployment of the UAV is one of the efforts for Gansu to strengthen ecological environmental protection after some long-standing environmental issues were dealt with to restore the damaged environment. The Qilian Mountains is a major vast mountain range standing across the border of Gansu and Qinghai Province, with an average altitude of over 4,000 meters. The range is an important water source of the Yellow River, China’s second-longest, and a key ecological shield in western China. Due to prominent problems such as over-exploitation of mineral resources, illegal construction and operation of hydropower facilities and excessive emissions by local enterprises, the ecological environment of the Qilian Mountains suffered serious damage for a period of time, which aroused high attention from the central authorities. President Xi Jinping made important instructions several times on tackling the long-standing environmental violations in the Qilian Mountains, demanding resolute rectifications. In 2017, the central authorities punished local senior officials in Gansu for their failure to undertake their duties. – Agencies
