- Javi: "CW-7's the compound that was shot into the atmosphere to reflect the sun and reverse global warming."
- Layton: "Yeah, I recall how that ended up."
- ― Javi and Layton in Smolder to Life
CW-7 was a cooling agent that was used to cool down the temperatures of the planet in response to climate change. It was created by Doctor Nima Rousseau.
History[]
Background[]
CW-7 was created by Doctor Nima Rousseau who had also been working on Gemini for six years before CW-7's launch.
CW-7 proved to be too effective and instead froze the planet, starting a new ice age so extreme that no life could survive it. Before CW-7 was released, Joseph Wilford predicted that CW-7 would freeze the planet, which led him to convert Snowpiercer from a Luxury Liner to an Ark.
Season 2[]
After finding it to be snowing out, Melanie Cavill realized that CW-7 may have begun to break up in the upper atmosphere and fall to Earth, meaning that the planet might be warming and may potentially become habitable again in the survivors' lifetime rather than in a thousand years. Melanie set out to prove her theory using the abandoned Breslauer Weather Station and Weather balloons released by Snowpiercer across the planet to collect data and build a climate model in the hopes of finding a location that could potentially be recolonized. While at the weather station, Melanie learns that the previous inhabitants were scientists who were trying to find a way to survive the effects of CW-7.
After being recovered by Andre Layton and Alex, Melanie's data shows several areas that are warming, in most of Central America and South Mexico, parts of the top and bottom of South America, Spain and southwest Europe, much of the upper parts of Africa as well as the Middle East and Greece, parts of Asia, South Africa and Madagascar, about two-thirds of South Australia and two small spots in the Dominican Republic and South India. However, North America still appears to be completely frozen over with no warm areas.
Season 3[]
More research reveals that the Philippines and the Horn of Africa are warming, while the upper parts of Africa and parts of the Arabian Peninsula, are no longer warm.
Bennett determines that the locations the Pirate Train checked out won't be habitable for a century, give or take, as even though it's warming, the trend isn't steep enough to be habitable yet. However, the Horn of Africa, specifically the southern Arabian Peninsula, has yet to be investigated. Lacking enough supplies to make it to the Horn of Africa, Layton decides to reconnect and take everyone with them.
After retaking the train, Layton tells Snowpiercer that they have tested North Korea, Sulawesi, Gujarat, Managua, the Atacama. And each one of these let them down. Layton lies that they found Asha at New Eden in the Horn of Africa in order to get people to vote yes on going there despite the Horn of Africa being along the worst part of the track.
Ultimately, Layton leads those who choose to take the risk of going to New Eden, to the Horn of Africa aboard Big Alice. The rough track derails the train as they arrive in a valley, identified by Alex as the best place in the warm spot to have a microclimate. At first the outside temperature registers as -10 degrees, but it quickly climbs with Javi and Alex realizing that it's inversion. Emerging from the wrecked train, the passengers discover the valley to be habitable with sunshine, melting ice and water in liquid form.
Season 4[]
After Snowpiercer is hijacked by the International Peacekeeping Forces, Dr. Nima Rousseau, a former colleague of Melanie's, boards the train and reveals that he is a part of an international research team that has been studying CW-7 and it's effects. Nima reveals that his team developed a compound that causes CW-7 to denature in the upper atmosphere and fall from the sky which they launched in missiles from a single location. The compound then followed the weather patterns across half of the equator, causing the six warm spots, including the one where New Eden is located. However, Nima and his team need the warm spots to grow, mix and feed off of one another into a web that extends across the planet in order to stop the Freeze. With half of the equator still in a deep freeze, there's no point so they need Snowpiercer to help launch the compound from the other side of the planet. With Nima's data proving to be promising, Melanie agrees to retrofit the train for the mission and to join Nima's team.
Joseph Wilford later reveals that it was Nima himself who had created and launched the CW-7, causing the Freeze, although Wilford implies that Nima was simply too prideful to listen to warnings about the dangers associated with CW-7 rather than it being a malicious act. Similarly, Nima refuses to Melanie's warnings that Gemini is too dangerous to use, revealing that he has been working on Gemini for fifteen years which is six years longer than the start of the Freeze.
Melanie surmises that Nima's research team for CW-7 was made up of the world's top chemists, climatologists, and geoengineers, led by Nima, the smartest person in any room. However, Nima knew that CW-7 wasn't ready, but he was unable to admit that he was behind schedule or wrong despite the fact that the smallest detail could be catastrophic and change the whole world. Nima insists that it should've worked and has a breakdown, finally realizing and accepting his mistakes. Although Melanie convinces him that Gemini won't work either, Nima is unable to stop the launch of Icebreaker and chooses to die by exposing himself to the Freeze that he caused. Nevertheless, thanks to Alex's subtle sabotage of the rocket, it falls harmlessly to the Earth, and it never reaches the stratosphere.
The passengers of Snowpiercer all decide to move to New Eden despite not knowing how long its warm spot will be viable. However, far away from the warm spot, a patch of flowers is growing, suggesting that CW-7 is breaking up and the planet is beginning to warm on its own.
Description[]
According to the Headwoods on the theory that the Earth is warming (based on the snow sample taken by Melanie Cavill), "The CW-7, it-it may have been buried in a larger compound." "A-Ammonium Sulfate. And if that's what it was, in the quantities we saw." "The theory holds, sir."
It's later revealed that the true cause of the warming is Dr. Nima Rousseau's research team developing a compound called Gemini that causes CW-7 to denature in the upper atmosphere and fall from the sky.
Quotes[]
- Melanie: "You know what I think? I think that team you were talking about, they were the top chemists, climatologists, geoengineers in the world, led by the smartest person in any room. But somehow, you still got it wrong."
- Nima: "I -- I know what you're trying to do, all right?"
- Melanie: "I think it wasn't the team that failed you."
- Nima: "Finish the job."
- Melanie: "I think it was just you."
- Nima: "Alex, work faster and close the hatch when you're done."
- Alex: "Keep your cardigan on."
- Melanie: "I think you knew that the CW-7 wasn't ready, but you couldn't admit that you were behind schedule or wrong, even though the smallest detail could be catastrophic and change the whole world."
- Nima: "Just stop. Stop."
- Melanie: "And how wrong was he, Alex?"
- Alex: "Well, are we counting flora and fauna on top of the seven billion?"
- Nima: "Enough! Enough! You don't know anything. You don't know anything! You weren't there, all right? It should have worked. It should have worked, God damn you!"
- Melanie: "Huh. But it didn't. And neither will this."
- ― Melanie deduces the truth behind the Freeze and finally gets Nima to recognize his mistakes in Last Stop.
Appearances[]
- Season One
- Season Two
Trivia[]
- CW-7 was originally engineered to last a thousand years, in order to protect the Earth from Global Warming for that long.
- Contrary to the TV Series, in the film, the CW-7 was released by planes rather than missiles. The first plane to release CW-7 took off, on 1st July, 0600 hours, 2014. The artificial cooling substance, CW-7, was developed over the past 7 years, amid controversy and protests from environmental groups and a number of developing countries. And was released by 79 countries.
- In the graphic novels, there is no mention of CW-7, as the freeze was instead caused by attacks on nuclear power plants.
- In reality, creating a thing like CW-7 would be stratospheric aerosol injection.
- CW possibly stands for Chemical Weapon.
Gallery[]
