Fact-Checking Weather Modification Claims
Introduction
Two weeks ago, I wrote about how disinformation was obfuscating the life-saving mission of the National Weather Service (NWS) and its partners in media and emergency management agencies. This week, the parent agency of the weather service, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), felt compelled to issue a press release titled "Fact Check: Debunking Weather Modification Claims."
The Rise of Disinformation
Before highlighting the most important takeaways from NOAA’s fact-checking, I think it’s important to add context to what’s been happening. While an inordinate group of people seem susceptible to conspiracy theories, Russia and some U.S. politicians amplified hurricane disinformation to drive Americans apart, according to research shared in an NBC6 story online.
NOAA’s Fact-Checking
Here are some of the claims NOAA debunked:
Debunked Claims
Claim: The government is creating and steering hurricanes into specific states or counties.
Fact: No technology exists that can create, destroy, modify, strengthen or steer hurricanes in any way, shape or form. Hurricanes are natural phenomena that form on their own due to aligning conditions of the ocean and atmosphere.
Claim: Projects like HAARP and SCOPEX modify weather.
Fact: Neither can modify the weather. HAARP (High-frequency Active Auroral Research Program) is a small National Science Foundation-funded facility in Alaska that conducts research on the ionosphere, 30 to 600 miles above the Earth’s surface. It’s a part of the atmosphere that is difficult to study because it’s too high for aircraft and balloons, and too low for satellites. The HAARP system is basically a large radio transmitter used by scientists and the military to better understand the effects of solar disruptions on radio communications and GPS positioning guidance. SCOPEX ended in March 2024, but the project was designed to study the behavior of small amounts of aerosols in the stratosphere to better understand solar geoengineering.
Claim: Solar geoengineering made hurricanes Helene and Milton worse.
Fact: Solar geoengineering is a theoretical practice which would modify the atmosphere to shade Earth’s surface by reflecting sunlight back into space. This is not yet taking place at scale anywhere in the world.
Conclusion
The 2024 Atlantic hurricane season is running above or well above normal by all measures. To date, there have been 60% more "major hurricane days" than normal, which serves as another data point validating the tendency over recent decades for a greater percentage of hurricanes reaching category 4 and 5 intensities. For now, the Atlantic is on pause, and we should continue to be vigilant.
FAQs
Q: Can the government create and steer hurricanes?
A: No, no technology exists that can create, destroy, modify, strengthen or steer hurricanes in any way, shape or form.
Q: Do HAARP and SCOPEX modify the weather?
A: No, neither can modify the weather. HAARP and SCOPEX are scientific projects focused on understanding and studying the atmosphere, not on modifying the weather.
Q: Does solar geoengineering make hurricanes worse?
A: No, solar geoengineering is a theoretical practice that is not yet taking place at scale, and it is not responsible for making hurricanes worse.
Q: Why is the 2024 Atlantic hurricane season running above normal?
A: The 2024 Atlantic hurricane season is running above or well above normal by all measures, with 60% more "major hurricane days" than normal, and a greater percentage of hurricanes reaching category 4 and 5 intensities.
