Explained: What Is Artificial Rain And Will It Help Delhi Combat Pollution

The Delhi government is considering implementing artificial rain through cloud seeding this month to combat the rising air pollution levels in the city. On Wednesday, Delhi Environment Minister Gopal Rai met with a team from IIT Kanpur to explore the feasibility of this approach. Mr Rai mentioned that if the sky is cloudy on November 20 and 21, Delhi might witness artificial rainfall.

Artificial rain, also called cloud seeding, involves introducing chemicals like silver iodide, potassium iodide and dry ice into the atmosphere via aircraft or helicopters. These particles attract water vapour, leading to cloud formation and subsequent rainfall. The methods include seeding supercooled clouds with silver iodide or dry ice and using hygroscopic materials like salt particles for warm clouds.

IIT Kanpur is spearheading the groundbreaking initiative to induce artificial rain as a temporary solution to combat pollutants and dust in Delhi. The institute, which has been researching pollution control since 2018, successfully conducted cloud seeding trials in June this year. With the approval of the the aviation watchdog Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), IIT Kanpur plans to deploy aircraft equipped with cloud-seeding devices to create rains that wash away pollutants.