Such weather modification has a history of success, just not on such a grand scale. China already has deployed hundreds of rainmakers in Tibet, with promising results including individual rainmakers generating clouds up to 5km in length. If the project proves a success, the 10 billion tons of additional rain will be useful not just in the Tibetan plain, but for China's other water plans, which include the South to North Water Transfer project, taking water from the Yangtze River to the Yellow River (both rivers originate in the Himalayas and would benefit from the rainmaking) and irrigating deserts in the Tarim Basin (which is north of Tibet). The use of such plans also feeds into a growing need for new water supplies, driven by global climate change melting the Himalayan glaciers that supply much of Asia's fresh water.