New Delhi [India], October 28 (ANI): Delhi Environment Minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa on Tuesday announced that a third round of cloud seeding will be carried out in the national capital after the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kanpur completed its second trial earlier in the day. The experiments aim to explore the potential of artificial rainfall as a pollution-control measure.
Sirsa said that IIT Kanpur will release detailed findings of the second trial later in the evening. The second cloud-seeding trial was conducted on Tuesday using a Cessna aircraft equipped with salt-based and silver iodide flares designed to induce rain. The first trial was carried out last week over Burari on September 23.
Speaking to ANI, the Delhi minister said, “A cloud-seeding trial has just been conducted. IIT Kanpur will submit a full report in the evening. We will conduct another trial today. The aircraft for the second trial has just taken off from Meerut. This will be the third trial in Delhi. In the previous trial, it was estimated that the moisture content in the clouds was 15 to 20 percent, which is very low.”
“If we succeed in this, it would be a historic achievement. IIT Kanpur is collecting samples on a large scale. Eight flares were fired prior to this cloud seeding. One flare lasts about 2 to 2.5 minutes and weighs between 1 and 2.5 kilograms. So, this cloud seeding lasted approximately 15–20 minutes, and the number will likely increase in the second trial. IIT will release all the details in the evening,” Sirsa added.
He also noted that the team from IIT Kanpur has expressed optimism about obtaining positive results from these systematically conducted experiments. In a post on X, Sirsa shared images of the second trial and wrote, “Today, another trial of cloud seeding was completed in Delhi. The Cessna aircraft took off again from Meerut Airport for Delhi and released cloud-seeding flares in different areas.”
“The team from IIT Kanpur has expressed hope for good results from these systematically conducted experiments. Based on the success of these trials, cloud seeding will be used extensively in Delhi for pollution control under the leadership of Honorable Chief Minister Mrs. Rekha Gupta,” the post read.
The Delhi government carried out cloud seeding across several parts of the city on Tuesday afternoon as part of its efforts to explore artificial rainfall solutions to reduce pollution levels. The aircraft arrived from Meerut, though its scheduled 12:30 p.m. departure was slightly delayed due to poor visibility.
Minister Sirsa said that the areas covered included Khekra, Burari, North Karol Bagh, and Mayur Vihar, explaining that eight flares, each weighing between 2 and 2.5 kilograms, were used during the process.
According to IIT Kanpur, the first round of trials involved releasing six flares at an altitude of around 4,000 feet above ground level, with a burn time of 18.5 minutes. A second flight took off at 3:55 p.m., deploying eight flares at a higher altitude of around 5,000–6,000 feet.
In an official statement, IIT Kanpur said, “Today, IIT Kanpur successfully executed a cloud-seeding operation over Delhi, a corridor measuring roughly 25 nautical miles in length and 4 nautical miles in width, with the largest distance covered between Khekra and slightly north of Burari. The first round involved six flares released at an altitude of nearly 4,000 feet above ground level, with a burn duration of 18.5 minutes. A second flight took off at 3:55 p.m., deploying eight flares at a higher altitude of around 5,000–6,000 feet.”
Cloud seeding is a weather modification technique that involves artificially inducing rainfall by dispersing particles such as silver iodide or salt-based compounds into moisture-laden clouds. (ANI)
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