Delhi trials cloud seeding to combat smog

Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta on Thursday said the city is ready to witness its first-ever artificial rain through cloud seeding as arrangements for the ambitious pollution-control effort have taken place.

A successful trial of the initiative was conducted earlier in the day in the Burari area, Gupta said in a post on X.

"For the first time in Delhi, preparations have been completed to induce artificial rain through cloud seeding, marking a significant technological milestone in the capital's fight against air pollution. Experts on Thursday successfully conducted a trial test in the Burari area," she said.

"According to the weather department, cloudy conditions are expected on October 28, 29, and 30. If the weather remains favourable, Delhi is likely to witness its first artificial rain on October 29," her post read.

"This initiative is not only technologically historic but also establishes a scientific approach to combatting pollution in Delhi. The government aims to clean the capital's air and balance its environment through this innovation," Gupta said.

What is the initiative?

Delhi Environment Minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa thanked Gupta and Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

"Today, a trial seeding flight was conducted from IIT Kanpur to the Delhi area via Meerut, Khekra, Burari, Sadakpur, Bhojpur, Aligarh, and back to IIT Kanpur. Cloud seeding flares were fired between Khekra and Burari and over the Badli area using pyro techniques," Sirsa said in a post on X.

He added that the flight became a mission to assess the cloud-seeding system's capabilities, aircraft endurance and coordination among all participating agencies.

The cloud-seeding project, has been developed by the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Kanpur, and the Delhi government. It aims to explore artificial rainfall as a way to reduce particulate-pollution levels in the national capital.

It was supposed to be conducted on 4 July but was put on hold.

Who is conducting it?

In September, the Delhi government signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the IIT-Kanpur for five cloud-seeding trials, which could be conducted in northwest Delhi.

The project has been approved by 23 departments, including the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), aims to see whether artificial rain can be a viable solution to deal with the rising pollution levels during the winter season.

IIT-Kanpur, which will deploy its own aircraft for the operation has received the funds.

When is it dated?

The cloud-seeding operations are authorised between October 1 and November 30, and will follow strict safety, security and air traffic norms.

They have received permission under rule 26(2) of the Aircraft Rules, 1937, permitting the IIT-Kanpur's Department of Aerospace Engineering to conduct the activity using a Cessna 206-H aircraft (VT-IIT).

The project is being conducted in coordination with experts from the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM), Pune, and the India Meteorological Department (IMD).