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A frosty reception by Chinese to man-made snowfall

PTI
Wednesday, November 4, 2009 15:30 IST
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Beijing: Even before they could raise toasts to their achievement in inducing an unseasonal heavy snowfall, Chinese scientists have faced public wrath as the powdery downpour created traffic chaos, delayed flights and left the people shivering.

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Sunday's man-made snowfall led to accumulation of over 16 million tonnes of snow on the Chinese capital, blanketing the city in white even before winter heating services had been switched on, leading to loud protests from the residents, the China Daily reported.

It was Beijing's first of the season snowfall and the earliest in 22 years according to meteorological statistics and before people had time to rejoice over the gift, they were baffled by the city's response.

People were asking why there were no accurate forecasts for the extreme weather conditions, calling into question the lack of an efficient emergency plan from city officials.

Little did they know that the surprise package was a handiwork of the Beijing Weather Modification scientists who shot massive amounts of chemicals into the clouds the night before to induce the snowfall, claiming they wanted to bring cheer to people as the city had gone without rains for more than 100 days.

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