China hopes to move water vapour from wet regions to the arid north using a weather control project

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Engineers behind the Tianhe project - which translates to “river in the sky” - are designing a network of six satellites which will be used to monitor damp air as it moves through a man-made “air corridor” above the vast country.

The finished system will reportedly help China’s drought-prone northern regions by shifting rain clouds towards the Tibetan Plateau which see little rain.

A suite of onboard sensors will monitor the distribution of water vapour “that will be moved to more arid areas”, according to Chinese state media.

Meanwhile, equipment installed at ground level will release tiny silver particles into the air which then provide material for clouds to form around.