The Modern Ark 60 (MA60) lands at Hohhot Baita International Airport in Hohhot, the capital of North China's Inner Mongolia autonomous region on March 20. The high-performance aircraft is set to seed clouds in the region in order to increase rainfall. [Photo/people.cn]

A cloud-seeding aircraft designed to artificially induce rain landed at Hohhot Baita International Airport in Hohhot, the capital of North China's Inner Mongolia autonomous region on March 20.

The aircraft is a Modern Ark 60 (MA60) –– an advanced high-performance plane specially designed for cloud seeding.

Inner Mongolia is located in the arid and semi-arid climate zone and it suffers from serious water shortages and natural disasters such as sandstorms, forest fires and droughts. The lack of water also severely restricts the sustainable development of the region's economy and society, and has a negative impact on ecological protection and construction.

The new aircraft is expected to help increase rainfall in order to tackle drought and reduce the risk of forest fires.

According to local authorities, this type of aircraft can fly through clouds at different altitudes and has a great safety record. It is able to fly in complex weather conditions and has the latest cloud-seeding equipment installed.