Govt may conduct artificial rain trial in May to fight pollution: Delhi min

The Delhi government is likely to conduct a trial for artificial rain in May as part of its efforts to tackle air pollution, Environment Minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa said on Thursday.

The trial will be carried out in an area in outer Delhi, with the final site selection to be made by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) and IIT Kanpur, he said.

Sirsa said the plan is part of a broader strategy to tackle pollution using multiple methods.

This is a war against pollution and we are working on various measures, with artificial rain being one of them. Before implementing it on a large scale, we will try to conduct a trial in May when summer is at its peak, he added.

He further said, We have asked for detailed reports to determine whether the chemicals used in cloud seeding could have any harmful effects on human health or the environment."  Based on the findings, we will conduct a small-scale test and analyze water samples. If the trial is successful, we will expand the project across Delhi during periods of severe pollution, the environment minister said.