In recent weeks, social media has seen posts claiming that the American military program is being used to influence the weather and is allegedly the cause of the heatwave affecting Europe. To support these claims, several accounts are publishing excerpts featuring journalists, scientists, and public figures discussing geoengineering (intentional, large-scale intervention in the Earth's climate system), presenting them as evidence that weather phenomena are supposedly being artificially controlled. In one video, French television presenter Anne-Claire Coudray talks about geoengineering. "In response to climate change, more and more countries are considering so-called geoengineering," she says in the report. "The idea is to directly intervene in the climate system and artificially cool the planet." This segment is portrayed online as proof that authorities are already manipulating the climate; however, this does not follow from the original context. The video featuring Coudray, published at the end of August 2025, is part of a news story discussing scientific research in the field of geoengineering — a field studying theoretical ways to mitigate the effects of climate change. The report does not claim that these technologies are already being used to create or enhance heatwaves. Many publications also mention HAARP — the High-Frequency Active Auroral Research Program, an American scientific complex that has long been the subject of conspiracy theories. ## ## What is HAARP? Established in the 1990s, the HAARP complex is designed to study the ionosphere — a layer of the upper part of the Earth's atmosphere. Scientists direct high-frequency radio waves into it and observe how charged particles respond. According to the stated goals of the program, the research was intended to deepen understanding of the ionosphere and contribute to the development of communication and radar technologies. Since 2015, the HAARP complex has been under the management of the University of Alaska, which openly publishes information about its scientific work. ## ## Common Conspiracy Theory This theory is based on a misunderstanding of how the atmosphere works. Weather systems, including heatwaves, form in the troposphere and partially in the stratosphere. HAARP experiments are conducted in the ionosphere, hundreds of kilometers above the Earth's surface. The radio waves used by this complex do not interact with the lower layers of the atmosphere, where weather originates. Scientists have repeatedly emphasized that there is no known mechanism by which HAARP could cause or enhance weather phenomena. According to climatologists, the recent heat in Europe was associated with a persistent high-pressure area that trapped hot air over the western part of the continent. Researchers also note that human-induced climate change makes heatwaves more frequent, longer-lasting, and intense.