Wed Oct 29 01:40:00 UTC 2025: Summary:
Faced with dangerously high pollution levels, the Delhi government, in partnership with IIT-Kanpur, initiated cloud-seeding trials on Tuesday in an attempt to induce rainfall. Despite two sorties, minimal rainfall was observed. Officials acknowledged low moisture content in the clouds and expressed hope for better results with subsequent trials. While initial radar readings indicated a trace amount of rain (0.1-0.2 mm) at the Delhi-Noida border, the overall impact remains limited. More trials are planned, with the project costing approximately ₹3.5 crore.
News Article:
Delhi’s Cloud-Seeding Experiment Yields Minimal Rain Amid Pollution Crisis
NEW DELHI, October 29, 2025 (The Hindu) – Desperate measures are underway in Delhi as pollution levels continue to climb. The Delhi government, in collaboration with the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Kanpur, conducted two cloud-seeding trials on Tuesday in an attempt to induce rainfall and alleviate the hazardous air quality.
The initial trials, however, produced negligible results. “Today, the clouds had very little moisture content,” explained Manindra Agrawal, Director of IIT-Kanpur. “We are doing a sortie tomorrow morning, and the clouds are expected to have higher moisture content than today, and there are better chances of rainfall.”
While officials reported a meager 0.1-0.2 mm of rainfall in the Noida and Greater Noida areas, the impact on the overall pollution levels remains to be seen.
Environment Minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa remains optimistic, stating that more trials will be conducted in the coming days. He also acknowledged that low humidity impacted the current efforts. Initial plans by the minister called for the conclusion of the trials, cloud seeding, and cleaning of Delhi’s air by today. However, in a video statement on Tuesday the Minister announced that the government had gone back to trials.
The aircraft used in the first trial flew a route from Kanpur to Meerut, covering areas including Khekra, Burari, and Aligarh.
The cloud-seeding initiative, formalized through a memorandum of understanding (MoU) between the Delhi government and IIT-Kanpur on September 25th, represents an emergency measure to combat the worsening air pollution crisis. The project has an estimated cost of ₹3.5 crore.
Despite the limited success of the initial trials, officials remain hopeful that future efforts will yield more significant rainfall and contribute to improving Delhi’s air quality.
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