Clouds on Call: Delhi?s Delayed Rain Dance Against Pollution

In a novel bid to clear its choking haze, Delhi is literally reaching for the clouds. The city government had announced a pilot cloud-seeding project, now postponed until after the monsoon or winter pollution season, hoping to coax rain from the sky and wash away pollutants.

The ₹3.21 crore experiment is all set to be carried out by IIT Kanpur, working with the India Meteorological Department (IMD) to map cloud cover. Under the plan, specially equipped aircraft will fly over peripheral areas such as Bawana, Rohini, and Burari, releasing a cocktail of silver iodide, iodized salt, and rock salt into moisture-rich clouds to trigger artificial showers.

?We aim to give Delhiites clean air? taking this bold step of artificial rain,? the Minister said, adding that officials are ?hopeful [it] will bring meaningful change.?

Cloud seeding works by introducing tiny particles that act as condensation or ice nuclei, encouraging water droplets to coalesce into raindrops. In effect, it is a high-tech ?rain dance? as planes seed clouds with silver iodide (or dry ice), which mimics ice crystals and induces rain. In the Delhi trials, IIT Kanpur will rely on nimbostratus clouds (500 ? 6,000 m up), which are most likely to yield precipitation.

After each flight, water samples will be tested to check for any chemical residues, and success rates are expected to be around 60?70% based on global studies.

As monsoon moisture normally brings some relief from Delhi?s summer heat and pre-monsoon dust, officials say that the post-monsoon window offers the best chance of success. Even Delhi?s summer air wheezes with pollution, and winter turns the city into a gas chamber.

A few well-timed showers could rinse the skies, if only briefly. As the Minister put it, clean air is a basic right of every citizen, and the government is ?exploring every possible solution? to achieve it.

What?s at stake? Cloud seeding isn?t a cure-all, but studies show it can boost rainfall by roughly 5?15% under the right conditions.

In Delhi?s context, even a small uptick in rain might translate to noticeably less dust and a short-term ?cooling? down of the city?s pollution levels.

Many experts caution it?s no silver bullet, as the benefits tend to be temporary if emissions remain unchecked. Still, with Delhi?s more than 30 million residents regularly breathing some of the world?s worst air, any rain, even artificial, is welcome.

If successful, it could set a precedent for other smog-hit cities.

Whether this high-stakes weather gamble pays off remains to be seen, but for now at least, the capital is chasing rainbows in search of cleaner air.