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One of the Rainmaking operation centers is located in the Hua Hin Airport. Before having been established as the Hua Hin Royal Rainmaking Center in 2002, the building that houses the center today used to be His Majesty King Bhumibol’s Rainmaking experimenting base. The center is responsible for producing artificial rain for reservoirs and farmlands in the upper Southern region—covering Prachuab Khiri Khan, Petchburi, up to Ratchaburi provinces. The mainstays of Hua Hin’s irrigation, Pranburi Dam and Gaenggrajan Dam, greatly benefit from the operation.

“Some villagers visit us at the center, bringing with them the produce from their farms to “repay” us with. Limes, chilies, pineapples, mangos, you name it. Sometimes, they even take part in the operation. Some do the ground job, helping prepare rainmaking substances. Some even fly with us. They stay in the plane rear and take care of pouring rainmaking substances into the clouds.” M.L.Chititewan Devakul, a scientific operation-weather modification flyer-pilot, giggles a bit as he recounts.

Rainmaking is a branch of weather modification. The procedures comprise three general steps—Triggering, Fattening and Attacking. Vapor in the air is mobilized by Sodium Chloride, which is commonly known as powdered sea salt. The formed cloud cores are then enhanced with heat created by exothermic chemicals, and eventually condensed with the aid of dry ice, transforming into rain droplets.

Furthermore, in 1999 His Majesty the King furthered the Rainmaking methodology by adding the Super Sandwich technique, in lights of the El Nino-induced drought which perpetually impedes cultivation nationwide.

Today rainmaking operation can both produce artificial rain from scratch as well as increase the amount and size of rain droplets from natural clouds. The amount of artificial rain produced through the operation is reported to overtake the fruit from natural clouds by as high as 58-109%.

Exhibited in Belgium’s technological innovation contest “Brussels Eureka” in 2001, the Rainmaking methodology manuscript created by His Majesty received spectacular interest from the global science sphere and won the Excellent Innovation for Public Benefits award. The Rainmaking methodology manuscript has recently patented with the EU and is in the process of securing the patent from the US.

In 1999, Thailand was selected to host the Seventh International Weather Modification Summit. The Rainmaking was voted by international scientists of the Applied Atmosphere Resource Research as one of the two most outstanding global projects.

In the regional level, the Meteorology and Geographic Physics Commission of ASEAN in 1997 designated Thailand the ASEAN Weather Modification Center. Academics from the country members regularly visit Thailand to receive training on the science. Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines are ASEAN countries that practice the Rainmaking operation.

His Majesty has recently granted permission for Tanzania to use his patented rainmaking techniques. A demonstration team will be sent from Thailand soon. Oman is another country that has requested to adopt the technology to soothe its drought.