Rain theft in China.

With some agricultural areas of China in the grip of an extended drought, cities have turned to rainmaking technology to extract precious water from the skies. Now neighboring cities in Henan province are accusing one another of an unusual crime: rain theft. In July 2004, Zhoukou city officials claimed that rain makers in Pingdingshan overseeded clouds so that the latter city enjoyed rainfall that should have been Zhoukou's. City officials want the courts to set up laws for "cloud farming," although scientists believe the technology is not yet proven enough to regulate.

China is one of the world's leading users of rain-making technology, which involves seeding cumulus clouds with dry ice or silver iodide to prompt precipitation. The Chinese government has set aside approximately US$50 million for nationwide weather management systems. Many local and provincial governments have set up "weather modification" bureaus charged with cloud seeding.