Delhi To See Its First-Ever Artificial Rain To Combat Air Pollution In July

In a first for the national capital, Delhi is set to witness artificial rain aimed at reducing air pollution, with cloud seeding scheduled between July 4 and 11, subject to weather conditions, Delhi Environment Minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa said on Saturday.

The flight plan for the seeding operation has been submitted by IIT Kanpur to IMD Pune for technical coordination, Sirsa told PTI.

"Conditions are not suitable for cloud seeding until July 3, but a flight window has been proposed between July 4 and 11," Sirsa said.

He added that a proposal has also been sent to the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), requesting an alternative window in case the weather remains unfavourable during the scheduled period so that the trial can be conducted at a later date.

"This initiative marks a historic step in urban pollution control and is being carried out for the first time by the Environment Department under Chief Minister Rekha Gupta's leadership," Sirsa said.

"Our aim is to give Delhiites clean air," he emphasised, asserting that it's the most basic right of every resident, and the government is exploring every possible solution to achieve it.

"That's why we're taking this bold step of artificial rain. We are hopeful it will bring meaningful change," he added.

In response to the accusations from AAP Delhi chief Saurabh Bharadwaj on Friday, who claimed that the BJP and the Centre hindered the city's pollution-control efforts and mocked the proposal for artificial rain during peak winter pollution, Sirsa clarified, "We were the ones who signed the MoU first, made all the payments to IIT Kanpur, and applied for the necessary approvals because we want to take real action." "They didn't do anything except talk about artificial rain. We, on the other hand, have worked sincerely. That's why, within just four months of forming the government, we are at the stage of finalising the date for Delhi's first artificial rain," he added.

The project, titled 'Technology Demonstration and Evaluation of Cloud Seeding as an Alternative for Delhi NCR Pollution Mitigation,' will involve five aircraft sorties over low-security air zones in northwest and outer Delhi.

Each sortie, lasting around 90 minutes, will cover approximately 100 square kilometres, dispersing a scientifically formulated seeding mixture using flare-based systems on modified Cessna aircraft.

The formulation, developed by IIT Kanpur, includes silver iodide nanoparticles, iodised salt, and rock salt, designed to catalyse artificial rain by accelerating droplet formation in moisture-rich clouds.

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