Delhi has completed its first cloud seeding operation on Tuesday, and artificial rain is now awaited. Environment Minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa earlier announced that the national capital is likely to conduct its first cloud seeding trial later in the day, with an aircraft equipped for the exercise conducting a trial flight over city after taking off from Kanpur.
Sirsa said the plane's arrival was decided on the basis of visibility improvement in Delhi, which is eneveloped in a smokey haze for the past few days due to a drop in air quality post Diwali. The plane successfully carried out the cloud seeding in Delhi and returned to Meerut after the exercise.
Delhi cloud seeding: Artificial rain in a few hours
Sirsa earlier said visibility in Kanpur is was recorded around 2,000 metres and that the plane could only took off once it reaches 5,000 metres. He added if the weather conditions and the visibility in Delhi reamained favourable, artificial rain could happen in a few hours.
It may take anywhere between 40 minutes and 4 hours for rainfall to occur after cloud seeding. If weather conditions remain favourable, a second attempt will be made later this evening.
The trial, aimed at inducing artificial rainfall to help combat rising air pollution levels, forms part of the Delhi government’s wider plan to tackle poor air quality during the winter months.
All preparations for the long-awaited experiment have been completed, with a test flight conducted over Burari last week. During that run, small amounts of silver iodide and sodium chloride, compounds used to trigger rainfall, were dispersed from the aircraft. However, rainfall could not be induced due to low atmospheric moisture, which was below 20 per cent compared with the required 50 per cent.
Last week, Chief Minister Gupta said the India Meteorological Department had forecast suitable cloud conditions between October 28 and October 30. “If the conditions remain favourable, Delhi could witness its first artificial rain on October 29,” she posted on X.
Multi-agency approach for cloud seeding in Delhi
The Delhi government signed a memorandum of understanding with IIT Kanpur on September 25 to conduct five cloud seeding trials, all planned for northwest Delhi. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation has authorised IIT Kanpur to carry out the experiments any time between October 1 and November 30.
More than ten central and state agencies, including the Union ministries of environment, defence and home, the Uttar Pradesh government, the Airports Authority of India, and the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security, have granted the required clearances.
The Delhi Cabinet approved the project on May 7 at a total cost of Rs 3.21 crore. However, the initiative has faced repeated delays due to unfavourable weather conditions, with earlier schedules set for May-end, early June, August, September, and again in mid-October.
