Delhi gets DGCA nod for first cloud seeding trials to tackle air pollution; ‘historic achievement’, says Minister Manjinder Sirsa

The method involves dispersing hygroscopic particles like sodium chloride below the cloud layer to encourage rainfall and help wash out pollutants from the atmosphere.

The trials, originally planned for early July, will now be held between August 30 and September 10, over areas including Alipur, Bawana, Rohini, Burari, Pavi Sadakpur and the Kundli border.

“For ten years, it remained only on paper. We took it up, secured all approvals including from the DGCA, and now Delhi will finally witness cloud seeding,” he said.

The aircraft to be used for the operation is a Cessna 206-H (VT-IIT), operated by the Department of Aerospace Engineering at IIT Kanpur. It is fully fitted with cloud seeding equipment and will be manned by a trained crew with prior experience in similar missions.

Sirsa added that while the original window approved by the DGCA was July 4 to 11, experts from the India Meteorological Department and the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology, Pune, advised postponing the exercise. The experts cited that weather conditions during that time were not ideal for cloud seeding.

Based on their recommendation, IIT Kanpur and the Delhi government requested a revised schedule, now approved for the end of August to early September, the minister explained.

The DGCA’s permission comes with strict conditions.

The flights must be conducted under Visual Flight Rules (VFR), with full visibility of terrain at all times. Use of aerial photography or videography is banned during operations, and the aircraft must stay within approved airspace.

Operators must also coordinate closely with Air Traffic Control, report any abnormal incidents, and ensure that all activities are properly documented.

Sirsa said the effort is part of the larger Environment Action Plan 2025, which aims to prepare Delhi for the winter season when air quality typically worsens. “These trials will give us critical data to fine-tune and scale up cloud seeding efforts later in the year. Our aim is to create a cleaner winter for Delhiites,” he said.

He also pointed out that Delhi is the only city where both the Supreme Court and the National Green Tribunal had to intervene due to the poor air quality. “That pressure was a result of inaction in the past. Today, under the leadership of Chief Minister Rekha Gupta and inspired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision of a Viksit Delhi, we’re changing that. We’re not waiting for court orders — we’re taking action,” he said.

Taking a jibe at previous governments, Sirsa said, “They spent a decade writing letters. We secured approvals within four months after several rounds of meetings. The aircraft is ready, the equipment is in place, and the pilots are trained.”

To help assess the success of the initiative and explore the possibility of wider implementation in the future, the data from the trials would be shared with central pollution control authorities, scientific agencies, and the courts, Sirsa said.