The Forgotten “Weather War”
An Historical Episode as Reflected in the Soviet Media
Deutsche Fassung
Abstract
In the early phase of the Cold War, advances in atmospheric physics provided the basis for military research into influencing precipitation. This aroused fears of a looming “weather war”. The Soviet Union initially took a sober view of the United States’ capabilities in this area. During the Vietnam War, however, when Washington attempted to employ “cloud seeding” to induce heavy rainfall and so reduce the enemy’s combat capability, the Soviet press responded with a campaign against the “meteorological aggressors.” The Soviet Union initiated the United Nations’ Convention on Environmental Warfare (ENMOD) to prevent environmental warfare. It is one of the few international agreements that aims to protect the environment in war.
(Osteuropa 8-9/2025, pp. 185–194)