China has rolled out a large-scale national cloud-seeding initiative across its northern regions, designed to boost natural rainfall and snowfall, shore up water supplies for critical spring agricultural activities, and strengthen regional ecological restoration, according to official announcements from the China Meteorological Administration (CMA).
Dubbed the “Spring Moistening” action, the targeted campaign kicked off in mid-March 2026 with three core priorities: easing persistent drought conditions across arid northern zones, ensuring adequate water access for spring plowing and crop planting, and accelerating recovery of fragile local ecosystems.
To maximize operational efficiency, both national and provincial-level meteorological agencies have coordinated closely to run regular cross-regional weather modification operations spanning Northwest China and North China, two major grain-producing regions that frequently face spring water shortages. The campaign’s deployment plan allocates 19 specialized aircraft for aerial cloud-seeding work, alongside a vast network of ground-based cloud-seeding equipment. This integrated air-ground framework allows teams to launch multiple coordinated rounds of operations tailored to real-time drought severity and evolving weather patterns.
As of early April 2026, the initiative has already completed three large-scale joint operations, covering a total affected area of approximately 979,300 square kilometers. CMA data estimates these operations have generated an additional 129 million metric tons of precipitation across the campaign’s working regions.
The extra rainfall and snowfall have already delivered tangible, positive outcomes: they have supported the resumption of crop growth following winter dormancy, markedly improved soil moisture levels for planting, and significantly reduced the risk of destructive forest fires in drought-prone northern forest zones.
The Spring Moistening campaign will remain active through April 30, and it forms a core component of a new year-round four-season weather modification program launched by the CMA in 2026 to upgrade China’s national weather modification infrastructure and service capacity. The full annual program is divided into four seasonal operations: Spring Moistening, Summer Safety, Autumn Harvest, and Winter Clearing, structured to deliver continuous, targeted weather modification support across the year for national priorities including disaster risk reduction, national food security, sustainable water resource management, and long-term ecological protection.
Later in 2026, the CMA will roll out additional seasonal weather modification operations to other parts of the country, including Southwest China, Central China, and East China. These upcoming operations will address local needs such as mitigating severe weather damage, increasing water storage in key reservoirs, and clearing fog at busy coastal port areas to maintain smooth maritime traffic.