The Delhi government has approved five Cloud-Seeding Trials at an outlay of three crore 21 lakh rupees to Combat Air Pollution. The trials have been approved at an estimated expenditure of two crore 75 lakh rupees, with each cloud setting costing 55 lakh rupees. The first trial is expected between May and June this year and will cover an area of approximately 100 square kilometres, primarily on the outskirts of Delhi. The Delhi government informed that a total of five trials will be conducted in this phase. It added that after the trials, scientific evaluations will assess the effectiveness and environmental impact of cloud seeding in reducing air pollution.
Cloud seeding is a scientific weather modification technique that involves dispersing agents like silver iodide into moisture-bearing clouds to induce precipitation. The project will be implemented by the Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur (IIT) Kanpur, which will oversee the planning, aircraft deployment, chemical dispersal, scientific modelling, and operational logistics.
