An attempt will be made today if clouds are spotted over Delhi, top sources at IIT Kanpur told NDTV. The national capital Delhi may see artificial rain today as a thick layer of smog continues to engulf the city, with the air quality index (AQI) at 308, falling under the ‘very poor’ category.
It will take about an hour to reach Delhi. Another aircraft is on standby in Delhi. Depending on the height of clouds, the plane would be activated. It all depends on the amount of moisture present in the air.
An aircraft fitted with cloud seeding equipment is ready at IIT Kanpur, according to sources.
Earlier, on November 5, it was reported that the Delhi government had conducted two rounds of cloud-seeding trials near the Indira Gandhi International Airport in the last 15 days as part of its efforts to explore artificial rain as a possible measure to tackle rising air pollution.
The cloud seeding project was first rolled out last year under a collaboration between the Delhi government and IIT Kanpur, formalised through a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), as an emergency measure during peak pollution episodes.
