Artificial rain trial postponed to August 30: Minister

Delhi Environment Minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa on Tuesday said that the trial of the cloud seeding project for artificial rain has been postponed due to the monsoon and will now be conducted between August 30 and September 10.

Addressing the media, the Minister said that while the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) had granted clearance for the trial between July 4 and July 11, the India Meteorological Department and the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology in Pune suggested shifting the dates, as monsoon cloud patterns may not support optimal cloud seeding.

“Following the suggestion, the Delhi government, in consultation with the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kanpur, requested the DGCA for the August 10 – September 30 window for the best results,” he said.

Mr. Sirsa said the DGCA has given clearance, and Delhi will soon witness the first-ever airborne experiment through induced precipitation to mitigate pollution.

Attacking the previous Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government, the Minister said, “Cloud seeding has been spoken about for years but never implemented. For ten years, it remained on paper. We took this up, coordinated with 13 departments, secured all approvals, and now Delhi will finally witness cloud seeding. This is a historic achievement.”

Last year, then Delhi Environment Minister and senior AAP leader Gopal Rai wrote multiple letters to Union Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav, urging him to fast-track clearances for cloud seeding as an emergency measure to control air pollution. He had claimed that Mr. Yadav did not respond to the letters.

Under the project, five aircraft sorties will be made over north-west and outer Delhi. A total of ₹3.21 crore has been earmarked for these trials. Each sortie, lasting approximately 90 minutes, will cover around 100 square kilometres, dispersing a seeding mixture developed by the IIT-K.