Delhi's Cloud Seeding Experiment Fails to Produce Rain Despite Costly Attempt

The Delhi Cabinet approved a cloud seeding project in May, allocating Rs.3.21 crore for five trials, with each attempt costing approximately Rs.64 lakh. The project, carried out in partnership with IIT Kanpur, aimed to induce artificial rain to bring down air pollution levels in the city. However, the first two trials conducted on Tuesday, which cost around Rs.1.28 crore in total, failed to produce rain, leaving the BJP-led government to call the experiment "successful."

Key Takeaways:

• The cloud seeding project, approved by the Delhi Cabinet in May, aims to induce artificial rain to reduce air pollution levels.
• The project, carried out in partnership with IIT Kanpur, involves firing silver iodide flares to stimulate rain clouds.
• Each trial costs approximately Rs.64 lakh, with the total cost for five trials being Rs.3.21 crore.
• The first two trials conducted on Tuesday failed to produce rain, with the IMD data showing no rainfall recorded in Delhi until late evening.
• The Delhi government's report on the cloud seeding trials states that the moisture content predicted by IMD was low, at around 10-15 per cent, which is not ideal for cloud seeding.
• The BJP-led government has defended the experiment, calling it "successful" despite the lack of rain.
• The AAP has criticized the BJP-led government for conducting the trial on a day when the IMD had already forecast rain.

Statistics:

• Total cost for five cloud seeding trials: Rs.3.21 crore.
• Cost per trial: approximately Rs.64 lakh.
• Total cost for the first two trials: Rs.1.28 crore.
• Number of trials planned over the next few days: 9-10.
• Percentage of moisture content predicted by IMD: 10-15 per cent.
• Humidity levels during the experiment: 15-20 per cent.

Sources:

• Hindustan Times, "Delhi's costly cloud-seeding experiment fails to bring rain" (no date provided)
• IIT Kanpur (no source provided)