In an effort to prevent severe hailstorms, special rockets were launched into clouds over Uzbekistan's Namangan region, according to Uzgidromet. The operation reportedly weakened the hail and prevented damage to agricultural crops.
Units of the Hydrometeorological Process Control Service under Uzgidromet protect crops in areas with high hail activity.
According to Uzgidromet, on May 1, 11, and 12 of this year, hail cloud seeding operations were conducted in the Kasansay and Yangikurgan districts of Namangan region. A total of 57 Alazan-6 anti-hail rockets were used, resulting in the weakening of the hail process.
It is noted that even after the intervention, short-term hail events were still observed.
About the Alazan-6 rocket: According to open sources, Alazan-series anti-hail rockets have been used since the 1960s in the USSR; the sixth version was developed in 2000. The 82.2 mm caliber rocket is launched from a ground-based inclined launcher. It explodes at a preset altitude (maximum 9.3 km), dispersing silver iodide reagent into the atmosphere to alter the physics of hail clouds. The rocket has a 99.95% self-destruct probability in the air.
The anti-hail unit: Uzgidromet's Hydrometeorological Process Control Service operates in four regions with high hail activity: Namangan, Samarkand, Kashkadarya, and Surkhandarya.
According to climatologist Erkin Abdulakhatov, the service was established to protect 700 hectares of crops from hail in these four regions. It includes dozens of MRL-5 meteorological radar systems and about twenty firing points. The service employs around 170 people. Until recently, it was part of the Ministry of Emergency Situations, but has now been returned to the Hydrometeorological Service Agency.
Short-term intense precipitation is increasing: Hail is defined as precipitation that forms in powerful cumulonimbus clouds and falls as ice particles. Global climate change observed in recent years has led to an increase in short-term intense precipitation (rain, downpours, hail) in Uzbekistan during spring. The amount of precipitation has not decreased, but it falls in large volumes over short periods, causing mudflows and floods.
Analysis of past years shows that hail activity in spring and summer has a variable trend in terms of average annual indicators: 2020 — 33 days, 2021 — 34 days, 2022 — 29 days, 2023 — 24 days, 2024 — 40 days, 2025 — 13 days.
Source: kun.uz