Cloud seeding plane headed from Kanpur to Delhi for 'artificial rain’

Kanpur/New Delhi: With air visibility improving by the afternoon, a plane carrying scientists set out from Kanpur on Tuesday to attempt cloud seeding and artificial rain in Delhi's Burari district, according to an IIT-Kanpur official.

“The plane with two passengers took off at 12.20 p.m. and it will take about two-and-a-half hours to reach Delhi,” said an official of IIT Kanpur Media Cell.

Earlier in the day, Delhi Forest and Environment Minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa told IANS that the plane could not take off earlier in the morning as the visibility was low and hovered around 2,000 metres and it had to wait for it to improve to 5,000 metres.

He said experts have already conducted tests in north Delhi for inducing the city’s first-ever cloud seeding experiment to counter air pollution scientifically, IANS reported.

IIT Kanpur Director Dr Manish Agarwal explained that attempts to induce artificial rain in the Capital had been made earlier as well but these were not possible due to a lack of necessary permissions.

“This time, the green light has been received from both the Delhi government and the Ministry of Environment, making the experiment more likely to be successful,” he said.

He explained that this technique can induce rain within a radius of approximately 100 kilometres, which will significantly reduce air pollution.

The IIT team had earlier completed all technical preparations and conducted practice rehearsals. With the presence of favourable weather and presence of clouds, artificial rain will be generated by chemical sprays.

According to experts, artificial rain will help settle dust, smoke, and pollutants in the atmosphere, clearing the air and providing significant relief from pollution.

Delhi Chief Minister earlier announced her government’s ambitious plans to rid the city of toxic air using scientific methods.

In the run-up to the city’s first-ever cloud seeding experiment to counter air pollution scientifically, CM Gupta said, “If conditions remain favourable, Delhi will experience its first artificial rain on October 29.”

“Preparations have been completed for the first time in Delhi to induce artificial rain through cloud seeding. Today, experts have successfully tested it in the Burari area. The weather department has indicated the possibility of cloud presence on October 28, 29, and 30,” she wrote on her X platform.

She said, “This initiative is not only historic from a technical perspective but is also set to establish a scientific method to combat pollution in Delhi.”