Delhi seeds clouds to clear post-Diwali smog, but rain still elusive

Despite high levels of air pollution in the national capital, experts say artificial rain is both expensive and only temporary fix, and that cities must tackle primary sources

The Delhi government on Tuesday carried out another cloud-seeding attempt to induce artificial rain, using an aircraft from Kanpur that dispersed eight fire flares over Burari, Karol Bagh, and Mayur Vihar during a half-hour operation before landing at Meerut airfield. The Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur (IITK), which is overseeing the exercise, said rainfall could occur within 15 minutes to four hours.

 

However, the cloud-seeding attempt did not lead to rainfall.

 

According to scientists, Tuesday marked Delhi’s third attempt at artificial rain. The first was conducted during the 1957 monsoon, and the second in the early 1970s. At that time,