Two trials of cloud seeding conducted by Delhi’s Rekha Gupta government to reduce pollution were not as successful as expected. Environment Minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa said that the main reason for this failure was the lack of moisture in the clouds.

During a special conversation with ABP News, Minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa said that the cost of cloud seeding once is around Rs 30 to 35 lakh. Whereas 9-10 operations cost around Rs 3 crore.

‘For this reason the trial was not successful’

He said that IIT Kanpur and Delhi government together tried cloud seeding twice, but due to lack of sufficient moisture, rain could not occur. Sirsa further said that during the trial on Tuesday, there was only 15 percent moisture in the atmosphere, whereas at least 50 percent moisture is required for artificial rainfall.

‘Will do trial again’

However, he also said that with the new chemical mixture prepared by the IIT Kanpur team, artificial rain can be produced in future even in spite of low humidity. The minister said that according to the India Meteorological Department, there is a possibility of humidity increasing by evening. Therefore, as soon as the weather becomes favourable, the next trial of cloud seeding will be conducted again. He said that our efforts will continue.

Answer given on AAP’s question

Meanwhile, Aam Aadmi Party leader and former Health Minister Saurabh Bhardwaj has raised questions on this experiment. He says that this is a waste of public money. Responding to this, Sirsa said that when his government was in power, he kept talking about cloud seeding for ten years but did not even sign the MoU. We tried, did trials for the first time, what if we did not get results immediately – we will not give up.

Sirsa further said that Saurabh Bhardwaj’s criticism is just a joke because his government only talked, whereas the present government showed action.

Trial is being done with the help of scientists of IIT Kanpur

It is noteworthy that for the first time artificial rainfall has been tried in Delhi with the help of scientists from IIT Kanpur. Its objective is to reduce air pollution and improve the air quality of the capital. This technology has already been successful in countries like the US, China and the United Arab Emirates, where it has been adopted to tackle drought and pollution.

Responding to Delhi government’s artificial rain trial, environmental experts have called it a short-term measure. Environmentalists have said that this may reduce pollution temporarily, but it will not solve the root causes of the deteriorating air quality in the national capital. In fact, the Delhi government, in collaboration with IIT-Kanpur, conducted a trial on Tuesday (28 October) to provide artificial rainfall in some parts of the city.

Environmentalist Vimalendu Jha said, “Rain can reduce pollution, but it is only a temporary solution, which can provide relief for a few days. This cannot be done every time.” He said that the government should focus on tackling pollution at the grassroots level.

Artificial rain also affects soil and water bodies – Expert

Vimalendu Jha questioned, “Artificial rain also affects the soil and water bodies because chemicals like sulfur and iodide are sprayed for it. Moreover, this approach is city-specific, what about pollutants coming from neighboring states?”

Author and clean air advocate Jyoti Pandey Lavrey compared the artificial rain test to previous short-term measures such as ‘smog towers’. He said, “The only way to reduce pollution is to reduce emissions, for which no one is ready.” Adding chemicals to clouds or air is for show, not for real change,” he said, adding that recent policy decisions like withdrawal of emission norms for thermal power plants have weakened pollution control efforts.

‘Such options should not be seen as solutions’

Kriti Gupta, another environmentalist, said that such options can be considered, but should not be seen as solutions in themselves. “We should be prepared for scientific trials, but should not prioritize them as the only option,” he said. Citizen awareness, reduced use of private transport, control of dust sources and better waste management are necessary for sustainable improvement.

Artificial rain trial to provide relief from air pollution

Artificial rain was tested on Tuesday in an effort to provide relief to Delhi from air pollution. Last week also, the aircraft had carried out a test flight to spray chemicals for artificial rain in Burari area. During this period, limited spraying of silver iodide and sodium chloride compounds was done. However, the effort did not succeed due to atmospheric moisture levels being less than 20 percent, compared to 50 percent required for successful artificial rainfall.

Now preparations for artificial rain from the sky have been completed in Delhi. To stop the increasing pollution in the capital, the Delhi government has finalized the plan of cloud seeding i.e. artificial rain. Environment Minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa said that the first trial will be conducted in North Delhi. For the last four days, pilots have been continuously practicing by bringing aircraft from Meerut and have flown to the height from where the raining process will be done.

Sirsa said that all necessary approvals for cloud seeding have been received from the Civil Aviation Department and other agencies. Now only permission from the Meteorological Department remains to be obtained. He said that as soon as approval is received from the Meteorological Department, the trial of artificial rain will be started within three hours. The special aircraft used for this process is currently parked in Meerut and is ready for flight.

There will be five trials in the capital

The Environment Minister said that a total of five trials will be conducted in Delhi. Earlier this trial was to be held in September, but it was postponed due to technical reasons. After this, a new date of trial was fixed between 5th to 7th October, but due to natural rains during that time, it had to be postponed again. Now the government is trying to conduct this trial successfully around or after Diwali.

Manjinder Singh Sirsa said that teams of 23 departments are involved in this entire process which are working in coordination. He said that this is a big experiment to reduce the increasing pollution in Delhi. If the trial is successful then it will be implemented on a large scale.

Artificial rain is a scientific technology

Cloud seeding i.e. artificial rain is a scientific technique in which special chemicals (such as silver iodide or sodium chloride) are released into the clouds from airplanes. These chemicals condense moisture in clouds, causing artificial rain. This technology has already been used in countries like China, America and Dubai.

The government hopes that the artificial rain will reduce the dust and pollution in Delhi’s air to a great extent and people will get some relief. This will be the first time in Delhi that the government will try to make it rain from the sky to deal with pollution.

What is cloud seeding: The area of ​​Delhi and its surroundings struggles with poisonous air every year in winter. Smog, dust and polluting particles dissolve in such a quantity in the air that it becomes difficult to breathe. Governments and scientists have been looking for such measures for a long time that this pollution can be reduced quickly and effectively. One of these measures is cloud seeding technology which helps to clean the air by making artificial rain.

What is cloud seeding?

Cloud seeding is a scientific technique in which clouds are motivated to rain. Normally rain occurs only when the water vapor in the clouds gets enough cool and turns into water drops or ice crystals. But when this process is not done naturally in the atmosphere, then scientists interfere in it.

In cloud seeding, particles such as silver iodide, sodium chloride or dry ice are released into clouds through plane or rocket. These particles attract moisture and increase the chances of rain by adding drops to each other.

Why is this technology necessary in Delhi?

The pollution of Delhi reaches dangerous levels every year. The amount of micro particles like PM 2.5 and PM10 in the air increases so much that even masks are not fully capable of stopping them. In such a situation, if artificial rains are made, then this particles sit on the ground and the air becomes clean.

Not only this, due to rain, soil moisture increases and dust is reduced. At the same time, the layer of smog breaks and people get relief. This is the reason that Delhi government and scientific institutions are working seriously on cloud seeding.

Benefits of cloud seeding

• Artificial rain reduces the toxic particles spread in the air.
• Lack of water can be overcome by bringing rain in dried areas.
• Farmers can get relief if there is no rain on time.
• This technique can be helpful in controlling the weather.

What are the problems

Cloud seeding is not as easy as hearing. For this, it is important that there are already enough clouds in the sky. If there are no clouds, then this technique proves ineffective. Apart from this, debate is also going on about the impact on the environment and health of the chemicals used in it. Also, this technology is very expensive, so it is challenging to apply it on a large scale.

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The joint efforts of the central government, state government and scientists are now going to land on the ground to provide relief from suffocating pollution in the winter of Delhi. Dgca Done IIT Kanpur has been allowed cloud seeding in the capital from 1 October to 30 November 2025. This is the first time in the country when the path of artificial rainfall is opening.

Environment Minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa told that, under the guidance of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chief Minister Rekha Gupta, Dgca Done IIT Kanpur has been allowed for cloud seeding in Delhi. Regarding this initiative, the Environment Minister said that this is a historic step in India’s fight against pollution.

‘Government priority to provide immediate relief to people’

Environment Minister Sirsa said that instructions have been given to keep the aircraft on standby. As soon as the weather and scientific conditions are favorable, there will be an attempt to start the initial trial between October 1 to 11. He says that it is the priority of the government to get relief from pollution as soon as possible.

IIT Kanpur aircraft will be the base of cloud seeding

Under permission IIT Kanpur team VT-IIT (Cessna 206h) Will use the aircraft. Dgca According to the guidelines of, only licensed and experienced pilots will fly. Flights under safety standards Vfr following the rules, ATC Will be done in collaboration with clearance and airport authority.

Dgca Has clarified that it will be mandatory to avoid restricted areas during flight. Any kind of air photography will not be allowed and foreign crews will not be involved. All procedures will take place keeping in mind the safety and privacy standards.

Part of Delhi’s clean air strategy

Sirsa said that attempts for cloud seeding of Delhi 24x7 Clean air strategy is part of. Its purpose is to save people from increasing pollution, especially in winter and protect their health.

Point to be noted is that, IIT Kanpur was earlier allowed for cloud seeding, but due to lack of favorable weather in July, trials could not be done. Now trials will be completed if the weather conditions improve in the new time limit.

The Delhi government is preparing to trial artificial rain by 15 October. The government’s environment department is constantly monitoring atmospheric conditions and has sought update information from the Meteorological Department about the status of monsoon and withdrawal date, so that the civil aviation can be applied for a new time-limit acceptance for cloud-seeding (DGCA).

Delhi’s Environment Minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa told the media, “The department will test after the return of the monsoon so that it can get the best results. As soon as clear information is received from the Meteorological Department, the DGCA will again write a letter and seek necessary permission to conduct these artificial rain campaigns safely.

Artificial rain will be initiated under strict supervision- Sirsa

Minister Sirsa said that the last deadline will be decided on the basis of the trends of atmospheric data and scientific assessment of the situation of clouds. This active step of the government has been taken towards removing the concerns of falling ground water level and rising air pollution after the monsoon in the national capital. This initiative of artificial rainfall will be done under strict supervision and a detailed report of the Meteorological Department will be helpful in its implementation.

What was the minister Sirsa announced in July?

Earlier, in a press conference held in July, Sirsa announced that the test was postponed due to the arrival of monsoon. The test was postponed by the end of August as the expected results could be affected due to rain. The test to be held between July 4 and July 11 has been re -determined. In view of consultation with meteorological experts and the current weather, the project team proposed the revised period from 30 August to 10 September.

Sirsa further said, “The new period is likely to provide more suitable cloud structures for the cloud-seeding process.” This campaign will be done by the Aerospace Engineering Department of IIT Kanpur, with the experts of the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorological Institute (IITM), Pune and India Meteorological Department (IMD), 206-A aircraft (VT-IIT).