Weather is not affected by rocket launches: Kazakh Minister of Emergency Situations

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Minister of Emergency Situations Vladimir Bozhko expressed his opinion concerning commentaries of local environmentalists who said that rocket launched affected weather conditions in Kazakhstan that is home to the world's first and largest operational space launch facility.

“Back in the days, there was a lawmaker who kept jeopardizing the situation. I want to tell you that no one has ever provided a scientific proof for the idea that launching of spacecraft affects weather and ecology. Although there seemed to be a pattern sometimes when it started raining or got cold after launches. Atmospheric processes are very complex and our Kazhydromet (national weather service) is working on it, but it is difficult to connect one process with another,” the Minister said in response to a question from Tengrinews.

“I have not seen any scientific researches that connect launches and changes in the ecology,” Bozhko added. However, the Minister admitted that cases when heptyl leaked or land was soiled certainly affected the environment.

Reporting by Renat Tashkinbayev, writing by Gyuzel Kamalova, editing by Tatyana Kuzmina