Cloud seeding trial in Delhi fails to bring rain, clean air
Delhi tried cloud seeding for the first time since 1972, and for the first time ever with the express plan to improve air quality, in late October 2024, hoping to bring rain and cleaner air.
Despite spending an estimated ₹60 lakh for the area seeded, with larger-scale operations projected at ₹25-30 crore for a month, and flying a Cessna over parts of Delhi and NCR with silver iodide and salt flares, the project didn't deliver much—mainly because the weather just wasn't on their side.
No real rainfall in Delhi
The India Meteorological Department had already warned that low humidity (below 15%) and not enough clouds would make rain unlikely.
That's exactly what happened: no real rainfall in Delhi, though Noida and Greater Noida saw a tiny drizzle (0.1-0.2mm).
Air quality bounced back quickly
There was a small dip in PM 2.5 pollution levels right after the trial, but it didn't last long.
The air quality bounced back to its usual state pretty quickly, showing that cloud seeding isn't really a fix for winter smog.
Experts call for bigger-picture solutions
While this experiment gave scientists some useful data, experts are clear—cloud seeding isn't reliable for fighting Delhi's winter pollution.
They're calling for bigger-picture solutions that actually stick around, instead of quick fixes that depend on perfect weather.