Delhi is intensifying its battle against deteriorating air quality with plans to conduct nine to ten additional cloud-seeding drives in the coming weeks. The initiative, which aims to induce artificial rainfall to settle airborne pollutants, represents India’s first large-scale scientific intervention in combating urban air pollution.
Officials confirmed that the new phase of trials will extend across northern parts of the city, depending on favourable weather conditions and moisture availability in the atmosphere. Early trials conducted this week produced encouraging results, prompting the administration to expand the programme through February 2026, provided atmospheric conditions remain supportive.
Cloud seeding involves dispersing substances such as silver iodide or common salt into clouds to trigger precipitation. The technique, widely used in drought-prone regions globally, is being adapted in Delhi to clean the air by accelerating the settling of dust, smoke, and particulate matter. Scientists from a premier technical institute are assisting the city’s environment department in monitoring moisture levels and analysing the efficacy of each operation.
Officials overseeing the project stated that if successful, Delhi could become the first Indian city to institutionalise cloud seeding as part of a long-term air management strategy. Experts, however, caution that while such interventions can offer short-term relief, they cannot replace sustained efforts to curb emissions from vehicles, industry, and construction.Environmental analysts see this move as a vital step in Delhi’s broader transition towards sustainable and climate-resilient urban governance. Artificial rainfall, when combined with robust public transport, electric vehicle adoption, and green infrastructure, can form part of an integrated pollution-mitigation plan. The administration is also reviewing traffic restrictions, construction bans, and industrial emission limits under the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP).
Citizens and health experts have welcomed the experiment, noting that prolonged exposure to poor air quality poses severe health risks, especially for children, the elderly, and pregnant women. Doctors report a surge in respiratory distress cases following the Diwali season, underscoring the urgency for immediate, science-based responses.The government has appealed for public cooperation and behavioural changes, urging residents to minimise vehicle use, adopt cleaner fuels, and support sustainable mobility alternatives. While cloud seeding alone may not eliminate Delhi’s pollution crisis, officials emphasise that it symbolises a shift towards scientific innovation and proactive environmental management. As India’s capital experiments with rain from the sky to clean its air, the outcome could redefine how megacities across the country confront one of the most pressing public health challenges of the decade.
Delhi To Conduct 10 More Cloud Seeding Operations To Reduce Pollution
