British scientists came to this conclusion after analyzing historical data.
The Treaty Banning Nuclear Weapon Tests in the Atmosphere, Outer Space and Under Water, signed in August 1963, put an end to the conduct of atomic explosions, which, among other things, affected the weather on the planet. This is the conclusion reached by experts at the University of Reading.
British scientists turned to data collected by meteorological and radiological stations in the middle of the last century, studying information in the area of London and the Shetland Islands. From the array of information, days were selected on which an increase in the level of radionuclides in the atmosphere was recorded, which indicated the passage over the UK of clouds with radioactive contamination from nuclear weapons tests of the USA and the USSR.
A detailed study of the data showed that the decay of radioactive isotopes and increased air ionization in a polluted atmosphere of London does not affect the likelihood of rain in any way - the air over the metropolis is so dirty that even an additional effect does not have any significant effect on it.
In the Shetland Islands, where there is no anthropogenic pollution, the situation was reversed. The radioactive substances made the clouds thicker, and the amount of precipitation increased by 24% compared to days when there were no radioactive isotopes in the atmosphere. Thus, scientists have become firmly established in the opinion that nuclear explosions increase the electrical conductivity of the air and the amount of ions in the atmosphere, leading to precipitation.
The results of the work, published in the journal Physical Review Letters, according to the authors of the study, can be used to combat drought in certain regions of the Earth. Instead of nuclear explosions, scientists intend to test the effectiveness of corona generators installed on airplanes in provoking precipitation.
Maxim Vershinin
