Indian Scientists to Seed Clouds to Combat Delhi's Hazardous Air Pollution

The leader of the project said on Thursday that Indian scientists want to seed clouds for the first time in an attempt to bring heavy rain to select parts of New Delhi. They hope that this would be sufficient to combat the haze that has been engulfing the most polluted city of the world for a week.

Every year, before winter arrives in Delhi, the quality of the air decreases due to cold air trapping pollutants from many sources such as automobiles, industry, burning agricultural waste, and construction dust.

About November 20, scientists anticipate some cloud cover over the city. They hope this will be substantial enough, with a high enough moisture content, to cause heavy rain through salt seeding, according to Manindra Agrawal, a scientist heading the experiment at the Indian Institute of Technology at Kanpur.

According to Agrawal, the initiative, which is projected to cost 10 million rupees ($120,000) for 100 square kilometers, would include spraying a mixture of salts, including silver iodine, into clouds.

"We don't expect that big a cloud that will cover entire Delhi, but a few hundred kilometres would be good," he said to Reuters.

The 20 million-person metropolis, which occupies around 1,500 square kilometers (579 square miles), has already closed all of its schools, halted building, and announced that it would impose car usage limits in an effort to reduce pollution.

IQAir, a Swiss company, has classified the city's early Thursday air quality index as "hazardous" at 506.

According to Gufran Beig, the founding director of the federal government's air-quality monitoring organization SAFAR, little rain might make the situation worse in Delhi, which requires significant and widespread rain to wash away the pollutants.

According to Beig, the present airflow is bringing smoke from the burning of agricultural residue from the states of Punjab and Haryana to Delhi, which is now experiencing almost no wind and has its own sources of pollution.

"So unless a huge pressure is established by intense rain, this chain of transport from Punjab to Delhi will not be broken, and once it is broken it is difficult for the chain to form again for some time," he said to Reuters.

The Supreme Court is considering petitions pertaining to pollution, and the Delhi government is hoping to get permission for the project from the court.

Several nations, including Mexico, the US, China, Indonesia, and Malaysia, have utilized cloud seeding to create rain, enhance air quality, and irrigate crops during dry spells.

However, in 2021, a proposal to plant clouds over the New Mexico highlands in an attempt to boost snowfall was abandoned due to concerns that it may harm the environment and human health.