Delhi Artificial Rain Today News Live Updates: Two precipitation events recorded in Noida, Greater Noida after cloud seeding trials, says Govt report

Two precipitation events recorded in Noida and Greater Noida after cloud seeding trials: Official Delhi govt report.

PTI

Moisture content predicted by IMD was low at 10-15 pc, which is not ideal for cloud seeding: Official Delhi govt report

After the successful completion of cloud seeding exercise, IIT Kanpur said in a statement, "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 little 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 pm, deploying eight flares at a higher altitude of around 5000-6,000 feet."

Environmentalists have termed the Delhi government's cloud-seeding trial a short-term measure, saying it may temporarily reduce pollution but will not address the root causes of the capital's deteriorating air quality.

"Rain can subside pollution but it is only a temporary, end-of-the-tail solution that might provide relief for a few days. This cannot be done every time," environmentalist Vimlendu Jha said. He said the government should focus on tackling pollution at the grassroots level. "Cloud seeding also affects soil and water bodies as chemicals like sulphur and iodide are injected into clouds. Moreover, this approach is city-specific, what about the pollutants coming from neighbouring states?" he asked.

Author and clean-air advocate Jyoti Pande Lavakare compared the cloud-seeding trial to previous short-term measures, such as smog towers. "The only way to reduce pollution is to reduce emissions, which no one seems willing to do. Adding chemicals to clouds or air is about optics, not real impact," she said.

Lavakare added that recent policy decisions, such as the rollback of the emission norms for thermal power plants, have weakened efforts to control pollution.

Another environmentalist, Kriti Gupta, said such options could be explored but should not be seen as solutions in themselves. "We should be open to scientific trials but not prioritise them as the only option. Civic awareness, reduced use of private transport, control on construction dust and better waste management are essential for lasting improvement," she said.

PTI

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) classifies October to December as the period of the post-monsoon season. This means that the rain-bearing, moisture-laden monsoon clouds and the associated synoptic systems, like monsoonal low pressures or depressions (which trigger rainfall), would be largely absent.

The winds are calm, and atmospheric conditions largely favour dry weather conditions during this season, unless triggered by the passing western disturbances at lower latitudes. Western disturbances cause rain and snow over north and northwest India during the post-monsoon/winter seasons.

Cloud seeding, hence, cannot be performed with these quintessential rain-bearing clouds remaining absent. Even if seeding attempts are made onto visible clouds, these may not necessarily lead to rain.

Largely, the timing of the cloud seeding experiment planned by the Delhi government is amiss, according to multiple officials associated with the Ministry of Earth Sciences, who have previously undertaken cloud seeding experiments.

"The Delhi government seems to have been misadvised about cloud seeding to be done in the post-monsoon / winter season. There will be no use of it as the season is dominated by western disturbances, making the seeding difficult in the absence of mature clouds," said a senior official at the Ministry of Earth Sciences.

Moreover, there is no scientific data with MoES indicating that cloud seeding efforts could lead to rainfall over Delhi.

MoES had previously conducted the Cloud Aerosol Interaction and Precipitation Enhancement Experiment (CAIPEEX) in four phases in the southern peninsular India region. During the phased studies done in 2009, 2010-2011, 2014-2015, and 2017-2019. Following the latest phase of experiments conducted over Solapur in Maharashtra, now there are elaborate protocols and guidelines formulated to guide policymakers and stakeholders to plan and conduct cloud seeding in India.

The outcomes from the latest experiments were:

The report further said that the potential applications could include:

https://twitter.com/PTI_News/status/1983114368473841875

Environment Minister Sirsa infromed that eight flares were used for the process. Rain may be expected anytime between 15 minutes to four hours, the location and intensity cannot be pre-determined. A third cloud seeding trial will also be done today.

Cloud seeding trial has been completed in parts of Delhi. Artificial rain is likely to occur shortly.

The trial, aimed at inducing artificial rain to tackle air pollution in the capital, is part of Delhi government's broader strategy to mitigate deteriorating air quality during the winter months.

The national capital has been under intense scrutiny over allegations of deliberately trying to manipulate the air quality index (AQI) readings. Amid the controversy, Delhi has again recorded ‘very poor’ air quality. On Tuesday, the Delhi AQI was 305 at 5:30 am. The ambient temperature at the time was 20.4 degrees Celsius, as per the Early Warning System for Delhi. Read more

Artificial rain is induced by introducing certain chemicals in clouds through a process called cloud seeding. During this process, an aircraft disperses several chemicals like silver iodide nano particles, potassium iodide, dry ice, etc, along with a mix of rock salt are sprayed into clouds to quicken the process of formation of water droplets. Once the droplets become heavy, fall as rain.

A Cessna 206H aircraft, which had been waiting for the visibility to improve, has taken off and is expected to directly conduct the trial in the northwest Delhi near Burari. Burari is among the most polluted regions of Delhi. After the trial, the aircraft will be stationed at the Meerut airport.

Delhi government has proceeded to conduct artificial rain. Delhi Environment Manjinder Singh Sirsa said, "The (Cessna 206H) aircraft has taken off from Kanpur and once it reaches Meerut, an official announcement will be made."