Delhi started its first full-scale cloud-seeding operation on Tuesday to produce artificial rain as the city’s air quality slipped into the “very poor” range.
An IIT Kanpur team led the mission, using a small aircraft from Kanpur to release silver iodide and sodium chloride over northern cloud bands. The sortie, planned for 12:30 p.m., was delayed by low visibility and later proceeded once conditions improved, reported India Today.
Environment Minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa said the goal is to spark rainfall strong enough to push particulates to the ground. A prior test flight over Burari did not produce rain due to low humidity, India Today added.
The Delhi cabinet approved a ₹3.21-crore program that includes five trial flights between October and November, with operations centered in the city’s northwest corridor, reported NDTV. Aviation clearance for the cloud-seeding window was secured, India Today noted.
Pollution remained high across the capital. Delhi’s Air Quality Index hit 306 on Tuesday morning, with higher readings at Siri Fort (350), Bawana (336), and Burari Crossing (326), NDTV said, citing CPCB figures. The same report cited an analysis by the Energy Policy Institute at the University of Chicago estimating that prolonged exposure to Delhi’s air could cut average life expectancy by roughly 11.9 years compared with WHO norms.
Officials called the initiative experimental but necessary. Additional flights may follow if weather conditions remain favorable, India Today reported.
This is a developing story.
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