Mayor Wants to Keep Snow Out of Moscow

The mayor of Moscow, Yir Luzhkov, has a plan to prevent it from snowing in the Russian capital this winter.

Luzhkov wants to use the Russian Air Force to spray liquid nitrogen, silver or cement particles into clouds to force precipitation to fall long before it hits Red Square, according to Time magazine .

Under Luzhkov's proposal, the skies would be cleared whenever snow-laden clouds approached the sprawling Russian metropolis.

The mayor believes the plan will benefit the city's suburbs because there will be more moisture in outlying areas producing a bigger harvest. At the same time, Luzhkov said it will make financial sense for Moscow because the city spends approximately $12 million each winter on snow removal. The plan to prevent the snow from falling will cost about $6 million.

In 2002, Luzhkov spearheaded a project to reverse the flow of the vast River Ob through Siberia to help irrigate the country's parched Central Asian neighbors, but scientists said that idea was not feasible.

Others have tried to control the weather over the years. China had some success using cloud seeding to keep it from raining during the 2008 Olympic games. There was some precipitation during the two weeks, but the Chinese were able to keep the opening ceremonies dry.

The U.S. launched a cloud-seeding program in the Sierra Nevada mountains this summer in an effort to increase the water supply for southern Nevada.