Delhi prepares for its first artificial rain as cloud seeding trial begins to tackle severe winter air pollution, conducted with IIT Kanpur and government approval.

The first artificial rain is expected to fall on Delhi as the government gets ready for the first cloud seeding experiment to address the capital’s deteriorating air quality. Awaiting an improvement in visibility in Kanpur, Delhi Environment Minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa announced on Tuesday that the testing will take place today when the aircraft assigned to the operation arrives.

Visibility in Kanpur was still restricted to about 2,000 meters, Sirsa explained. “Once the visibility improves, the flight will land in Delhi.” As soon as visibility exceeds 5,000 meters, takeoff will be cleared, he added, adding that the cloud seeding trial will go place today.

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As part of a larger plan to address the extreme air pollution that permeates the city in the winter, Delhi is using cloud seeding, which entails spraying clouds with a solution of sodium chloride and silver iodide to get rain.

Pretrial Ministers Attend Chhath Puja

Chief Minister Rekha Gupta gave Argyha to the rising Sun at the last day of Chhath Puja at the ITO Ghat earlier in the day, and Sirsa joined her along with ministers Kapil Mishra and Ravinder Indraj.

The celebration of the festival was lavish. After praying to the setting sun yesterday, our chief minister asked the rising sun for blessings on Delhi’s development today, Sirsa revealed.

During the festive celebrations, he also attacked the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), saying they propagate negativity. “The AAP has been spreading negativity for the past three days.” They ought to have taken part in the celebration. May Chhathi Maiya provide them wisdom,” he said.

Arrangements and Technical Specifics

IIT Kanpur and the Delhi government spent weeks preparing for the eagerly awaited trial. On September 25, an agreement to carry out five cloud seeding experiments—all slated for northwest Delhi—was reached.

The process began with a test flight over Burari last week. Due to low atmospheric moisture levels of less than 20% compared to the optimal 50% needed, fake rain could not be produced during the test, but modest amounts of the seeding compounds were distributed.

Chief Minister Gupta had previously stated that good cloud conditions were expected between October 28 and 30, according to the India Meteorological Department. She said last Thursday on X, “If conditions stay favorable, Delhi may see its first artificial rain on October 29.”

Cloud Seeding Costs and Clearances

More than ten federal and state organizations, including the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security, the Uttar Pradesh government, the Airports Authority of India, and the Union Ministries of Environment, Defense, and Home, gave their approval for the project to proceed.

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The proposal from IIT Kanpur to conduct the cloud seeding flights from October 1 to November 30 was also authorized by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation.

The trials were postponed from May to October due to recurrent weather delays, despite the Delhi Cabinet having approved the Rs 3.21 crore project on May 7. Officials are hopeful that today’s better weather would enable the city to try artificial rain for the first time. This might be a major breakthrough in Delhi’s continuous fight against smog.