Experts devise seawater cloud-seeding scheme in bid to tame hurricanes

The academics say this would increase cloud cover and reduce the heat in the surface waters of the ocean which is where hurricanes get their energy.

Dr Alan Gadian, from Leeds University’s School of Earth and Environment, said: “Hurricanes derive their energy from the heat contained in the surface waters of the ocean.

“If we are able to increase the amount of sunlight reflected by clouds above the hurricane development region then there will be less energy to feed them.”

Academics say spraying tiny seawater droplets into the clouds would increase “cloud reflectivity and duration”.

The team’s calculations suggest this approach could significantly reduce the power of developing hurricanes at sea.

This type of cloud-seeding project already exists around the world and was most famously used in China during the 2008 Beijing Olympics in an attempt to influence rainfall.