Environment Minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa on Wednesday said the Delhi government had planned for cloud seeding, or artificial rain, and has now received the necessary permission to conduct the trial in October and November.
“The Delhi government had planned for cloud seeding, artificial rain, we have got the permission, there will be trial in October-November in Delhi. It will be done in north Delhi, the trial will be completed from Hindon Airport with Cessna aircraft, IIT Kanpur will be conducting it,” said Sirsa.
We will be able to bring relief to people from smog in October-November, said the minister.
Sirsa added that the technique has been approved with certain conditions.
The aircraft crew will not include any foreign nationals, and no aerial videography will be carried out during the cloud seeding process.
The operation will be confined strictly to the area for which permission has been granted, and all other flights will be restricted in that area during the exercise.
Any violation of the rules will have to be reported to the Directorate General of Civil Aviation.
The Delhi government has allocated approximately Rs 3.21 crore for the project, which aims to reduce pollution levels in the city.
Cloud seeding is used internationally, including in the United States, China, and the UAE, to address drought and combat pollution.
The trial was scheduled for July but was delayed due to unfavorable weather conditions.
Delhi experienced a sunny morning on Wednesday, with the minimum temperature recorded at 24 degrees celsius and the sky was clear throughout the day. The Air Quality Index in the national capital stood at 107 at 9 am, placing it in the moderate category.
