‘He who controls weather will control the world’: CIA accused of 'poisoning the sky' in 1960s report

The CIA has been accused of secretly controlling the weather and poisoning the sky after declassified documents from the 1960s resurfaced online.

The 18-page report, titled “Weather Modification” and declassified by the CIA in 2003, detailed America's interest in controlling the weather. The memorandum was originally issued in October 1965 and outlined plans to launch rockets and use aircraft to release chemicals that could alter the climate and local storms.

One social media post claimed: “The CIA has been poisoning the sky and controlling the weather since 1965!”

The documents, dated 1965, discussed federal funding for secret projects, which was set to quadruple by 1967, according to the Daily Mail. The files also included a letter from President Lyndon B Johnson praising the classified programme. Johnson had earlier suggested that controlling the weather would give the US global power, telling graduates at Southwest Texas State University in May 1962: “He who controls the weather will control the world.”

Following his speech, the CIA launched projects like Stormfury and Popeye. Project Stormfury involved flying into hurricanes and seeding them with silver iodide to weaken the storms. Johnson’s letter specifically mentioned the project’s work on a recent hurricane near Florida, believed to be Hurricane Betsy. By 1967, Project Popeye aimed to disrupt enemy supply lines during the Vietnam War by artificially extending the monsoon season.

Conspiracy theorists have linked these historical programmes to modern claims of “chemtrails.” They allege that aircraft today are equipped with secret tanks and nozzles, spraying chemicals such as aluminum, barium, strontium, and even mercury.

Environmental researcher Dane Wigington claims that between 40 and 60 million tons of nanoparticles are released into the atmosphere annually, while RFK Jr has said: “Those materials are put in jet fuel. I'm going to do everything in my power to stop it. Find out who's doing it and holding them accountable.”

However, scientists argue that most contrails are simply frozen water vapour from aircraft engines at high altitudes. The US government maintains that weather modification has only been used to weaken storms or induce rainfall in drought-affected areas.

Records also show that the US seeded clouds with lead iodide near the Ho Chi Minh Trail during the Vietnam War, causing landslides and blocking supply routes. Lead iodide is toxic to humans and can cause headaches, fatigue, abdominal pain, neurological damage, and developmental issues in children.