Chinese scientists succeeded in using weather rockets to guide lightning to a specific spot on the ground in a recent experiment carried out in east China's Shandong Province.

The experiment, conducted by scientists from the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Chinese Academy of Meteorological Sciences (CAMS), would help lightning control in the region, according to Zhang Yijun, a research fellow with CAMS.

Thousands of people are killed or wounded by lightning every year and the economic loss caused by lightning exceeds one billion yuan (US$120.48 million), according to statistics from China Meteorological Administration indicate.

Shandong is frequently hit by thunder and lightning, Zhang said, and the lightning-diverting technology can largely reduce the casualty rate they cause in the future.

Zhang said when thunder storms came, lightning could strike any place at anytime, but by shooting the guiding rocket into the air, scientists can make it strike immediately to an assigned area.

Scientists in the experiment said the meteorological observation stations and advanced radar network for weather forecasting established in northern Shandong were ideal for lightning diversion.

The technology to divert lightning by rockets has only been mastered by the United States, France, Japan, Brazil, and China, scientists said.

(Xinhua News Agency August 6, 2005)