Delhi, the capital of India is set to launch its first cloud seeding trial in early September in a bid to make artificial rain, a scientific experiment aimed at clearing the capital city’s toxic air.
The trials will be carried out in the first two weeks of September, Delhi environment minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa informed the other day.
The project, led by IIT-Kanpur, was earlier scheduled for early July but had to be postponed as per inputs from the India Meteorological Department (IMD), IIT-Kanpur, and the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM), Pune.
The revised timeline aligns with the retreating monsoon, which typically brings more favourable information necessary for the experiment.
The Delhi government has sanctioned Rs. 3.21 crore for the pilot project, which is being implemented by the Department of Aerospace Engineering at IIT-Kanpur.
The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has granted full operational clearance. The aircraft, a Cessna 206-H (VT-IIT), has been fitted with specialised cloud seeding instruments, and the flight crew has all necessary licenses and certifications.
The aircraft will conduct five sorties over north Delhi’s high-pollution zones, including Rohini, Bawana, Alipur, and Burari, as well as adjoining areas of Uttar Pradesh like Loni and Baghpat.
During the flights, the plane will fly below the cloud base and release hygroscopic particles, such as sodium chloride and other aerosols, into the clouds to stimulate precipitation.
Sirsa informed all precautions have been taken. “We have secured all necessary permissions, and the aircraft is fully ready. The instrumentation work has been completed by IIT-Kanpur, and we are fully prepared,” he said.
Cloud seeding, a form of weather modification, involves artificially enhancing precipitation to trigger rain. In Delhi’s case, the aim is to wash airborne pollutants out of the atmosphere and improve air quality, particularly in the weeks following the monsoon, when pollution levels tend to spike.
“This is a scientific intervention to combat air pollution,” Sirsa said. “If successful, it will open a new avenue for Delhi to deal with hazardous air quality, especially during the post-monsoon period,” he added.
