Parched and desperate for rain: Kazakhstan turns to cloud-seeding

In an effort to tackle severe droughts that plague the country, Kazakhstan has turned to cloud seeding, using special aircraft to disperse a substance that sticks to cloud droplets, making them heavy enough to fall as rain. Kazakh authorities are betting on the technique to reduce the impact of drought and water shortages in its southern Turkestan region, the country's leading cotton-growing region. "We are not creating the cloud," explains Adnan Yarmohammed, an Emirati official involved in the initiative, adding, "We are just enhancing the cloud that's already available."