Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) has clearly indicated that her academic background does not include atmospheric sciences, as she proposed an irrational notion suggesting that officials could resolve the wildfires in Los Angeles by altering the weather.
“Why don’t they utilize geoengineering techniques like cloud seeding to induce rainfall on the wildfires in California?” the Republican questioned on Sunday in a post on X. “They are capable of doing it.”
Greene has consistently referenced cloud seeding—the method of dispersing silver iodide particles and various aerosols from aircraft or ground-based generators into the atmosphere to stimulate precipitation—as an easy explanation for climatic occurrences, seemingly without a full understanding of its mechanics.
In October, she alleged that the federal government had engineered Hurricane Milton using such technology, just days prior to its impact on Florida. Experts have remarked that while cloud seeding can produce minor amounts of localized rainfall in certain instances, it cannot create a hurricane.
President Joe Biden labeled Greene’s claims as “so foolish,” while one of her Republican peers in the House remarked that anyone espousing her beliefs “needs to get their head checked.”
Regarding the ongoing wildfires raging through Los Angeles, officials cannot conjure rain out of nowhere.
Even if there were a chance to experiment with cloud seeding on a scale that could impact the wildfires, it would necessitate storms or cloud formations to seed. Currently, there are no significant storm systems in the vicinity.
Moreover, Southern California is grappling with a severe drought, which results in a scarcity of viable conditions for seeding; soil moisture levels across much of the region, including Los Angeles, are in the lowest 2 percent of historical data, according to NASA findings published by the National Integrated Drought Information System.
“In times of drought, there are likely to be fewer storms suitable for seeding,” a 2022 article in Yale Environment 360, produced by the Yale School of the Environment, states. “And when storms do occur, even estimates from cloud seeding companies indicate that the technique increases precipitation by only about 10 percent in a specific area.”
“Let’s keep politicians out of meteorology,” tweeted Bryce Jones, a meteorologist at WDRB News in Louisville, Kentucky, while referencing Greene’s latest weather conspiracy. “And exclude politics from the discussion entirely. This is wearing me out.”
This is not Greene’s first foray into wildfire commentary; shortly after winning her congressional seat, a Facebook post surfaced where she attributed the 2018 California wildfires to a Jewish-controlled “space laser.”
Her suggestion of cloud seeding represents the latest instance of misinformation circulated by right-wing figures in the U.S. as firefighters continue to combat two destructive blazes that have scorched nearly 38,000 acres.
Conservative media sources have unfoundedly suggested that diversity initiatives within the Los Angeles fire department contributed to the spread of the severe fires.
Representative Andy Biggs (R-AZ) erroneously asserted that Democrats had rerouted FEMA funds to assist migrants.
Additionally, Donald Trump Jr., the eldest son of President-elect Donald Trump, attempted to blame a donation of firefighting equipment by the Los Angeles fire department to Ukraine in 2022.
Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced on Sunday that his nation has offered to dispatch 150 firefighters to aid Los Angeles emergency personnel.
