Brief 'technical glitch' with rain radar prompts conspiracy theories online: "They weren't being discreet to anyone"
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A brief technical issue with the rain radar operated by the Bureau of Meteorology (BoM) has given rise to a plethora of far-fetched theories on the internet.
A number of users on social media were alarmed after a glitch appeared to show a ring of rain expanding outwards from the town of Bairnsdale, which is located in the state of Victoria.
Conspiracy theories began to circulate almost immediately, with some people making the outlandish assumption that HAARP was responsible for the rain formation.
According to NASA, the High-frequency Active Auroral Research Program, also known as HAARP, is a scientific endeavour that makes use of a complicated array of antennas in order to investigate the characteristics and behaviours of the ionosphere.
"The ionosphere stretches roughly 50 to 400 miles (80 to 650km) above Earth‘s surface, right at the edge of space. Along with the neutral upper atmosphere, the ionosphere forms the boundary between Earth’s lower atmosphere — where we live and breathe — and the vacuum of space," the space agency said in a statement.
A brief glitch in the Bureau of Meteorology's rain radar has led to a lot of crazy theories online. Credit: Twitter/@IsobelRoe.
The alleged 'technical issue' has been the subject of concern voiced by a number of users across various social media platforms, most notably on Twitter. One user commented that the rain explosion demonstrated "they weren't being discreet to anyone."
Another user commented, perhaps in jest, that the image was evidence that the government was "controlling" the weather once again.
However, a number of different actions have been taken to disprove the validity of such conspiracy theories.
Climate Feedback issued a report in 2021 attempting to clear the air about the HAARP facility and its alleged ability to manipulate the planet's weather, cause natural disasters, and even affect human thought processes.
According to the report, "the facility is a high-frequency (shortwave radio) transmitter and does not transmit low-frequency vibrations."
"HAARP investigates physics phenomena in the uppermost part of the atmosphere (known as the ionosphere) by studying the brief heating effects caused by the transmitter. As a result, it has no effect on human thought processes or movements."
For the time being, the High-frequency Active Auroral Research Program (HAARP) is the most capable high-power, high-frequency transmitter anywhere in the world for conducting ionosphere research.
The HAARP facility has been accused of mind control, weather manipulation, and other weaponized applications on multiple occasions, which has led to a proliferation of conspiracy theories surrounding the institution.
Watch as two scientists make an attempt to explain away the mystery that surrounds the facility in the video below.
Credit: Outliers Overland.
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