Beijing to spend $3.25m on smog modifications

Beijing plans to allocate 20 million yuan ($3.25 million) for weather modification efforts aimed at smog reduction this year, according to the annual budget released by the capital's meteorological bureau.

It is the first time that weather modification aimed at smog reduction has been listed in the budget. The funds will be used for smog-reduction experiments and the purchase of equipment.

Beijing's environmental protection bureau plans to spend more than 14 million yuan on projects involving air pollution prevention and monitoring.

Weather modification, mainly artificial rain, may be one of the solutions for the capital's weather authorities to alleviate the frequent smoggy days in the capital and the surrounding region.

Eight cities in the region surrounding Beijing were listed among the top 10 cities with the worst air quality across China in February, the Ministry of Environmental Protection said.

As air pollution becomes a national issue, the country aims to cut energy intensity by 3.9 percent this year to strengthen energy conservation and emission-reduction efforts, which will cut coal consumption by 220 million metric tons. Coal burning is a major contributor to PM 2.5.

While coal burning will be reduced, local weather authorities will be able to use weather modification methods, mainly rain enhancement, to improve air quality by 2015 when heavy smog occurs, according to a document released by the China Meteorological Administration.