Gunship
29th Oct 2002, 21:27
The Familliar Link to NEWS 24 (http://www.news24.com/News24/South_Africa/Mpumalanga/0,1113,2-7-833_1277806,00.html)
:D Malelane - Aircraft have become a bad omen to disgruntled farmers in the rural Nkomazi region in Mpumalanga.
They claim that whenever clouds gather in the sky an airplane appears and blows away any prospect of rain.
"This is clearly sabotage by right-wingers in the area," said Mbongeni Mdaka of the farmer's association, Club Farmers 88, in Schoemansdal village near Malelane on Tuesday.
"Some white farmers are bitter that blacks are claiming land, and want to increase poverty to create a bad name for the [democratic] government," he added.
Mdaka said the planes had prevented rain from falling this summer and that the association had decided to report the matter to Nkomazi executive mayor, Selby Khumalo.
SAWS
Specialist scientist at the South African Weather Service in Bethlehem in the Free State, Pieter Visser, said there was only a technique to attract rain to an area called 'cloud seeding' but that there was no technology in South Africa to prevent rain.
"The last time cloud seeding was done in South Africa was about five years ago in Limpopo province," Visser said. "At that time, salt particles sprayed from light aircrafts caused downpours within 20 to 55 minutes."
Visser said seeded clouds held 30 % more rain than unseeded clouds.
"The country needs more water and any weather modification would be done to alleviate water shortages [not create them]," Visser said.
:D Malelane - Aircraft have become a bad omen to disgruntled farmers in the rural Nkomazi region in Mpumalanga.
They claim that whenever clouds gather in the sky an airplane appears and blows away any prospect of rain.
"This is clearly sabotage by right-wingers in the area," said Mbongeni Mdaka of the farmer's association, Club Farmers 88, in Schoemansdal village near Malelane on Tuesday.
"Some white farmers are bitter that blacks are claiming land, and want to increase poverty to create a bad name for the [democratic] government," he added.
Mdaka said the planes had prevented rain from falling this summer and that the association had decided to report the matter to Nkomazi executive mayor, Selby Khumalo.
SAWS
Specialist scientist at the South African Weather Service in Bethlehem in the Free State, Pieter Visser, said there was only a technique to attract rain to an area called 'cloud seeding' but that there was no technology in South Africa to prevent rain.
"The last time cloud seeding was done in South Africa was about five years ago in Limpopo province," Visser said. "At that time, salt particles sprayed from light aircrafts caused downpours within 20 to 55 minutes."
Visser said seeded clouds held 30 % more rain than unseeded clouds.
"The country needs more water and any weather modification would be done to alleviate water shortages [not create them]," Visser said.