Delhi’s much-awaited cloud seeding trial to induce artificial rain did not bring showers on Tuesday. However, IIT Kanpur Director Manindra Agrawal said the experiment was valuable because it provided critical data for future trials.
The trial, conducted by IIT Kanpur’s expert team, aimed to reduce Delhi’s pollution by triggering rain through cloud seeding. The process involved launching two aircraft from IIT Kanpur and Meerut airfields. These aircraft covered areas like Khekra, Burari, North Karol Bagh, Mayur Vihar, Sadakpur, and Bhojpur, releasing flares that contained a chemical mixture to encourage rainfall.
Low Moisture Levels Prevented Rain
Speaking to reporters, Professor Agrawal explained that the failure was mainly due to low cloud moisture, which was around 15%. “The chances of inducing rain were very small, so we did not achieve success in that regard,” he said.
Despite this, the team collected valuable data through 15 monitoring stations across Delhi that tracked pollution and moisture levels. According to Agrawal, the results showed a 6–10% reduction in PM 2.5 and PM 10 concentrations.
#WATCH | Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh: On cloud seeding in Delhi, Manindra Agrawal, Director of IIT Kanpur, says, “We did not get a lot of cloud moisture. It was only around 15%. Given the low moisture content, the possibility of rain is very small. So we did not achieve success from… pic.twitter.com/f9bErKASND
— ANI (@ANI) October 29, 2025
“This shows that even with a very small or low level of moisture in the cloud, when we do the seeding, it does result in some impact, not the impact that one would ideally like to see, but still some impact,” he said.
He added that the information gained will help the team plan future seeding trials more effectively.
IIT Kanpur Director Defends the Cost of the Experiment
Addressing concerns over the high cost of cloud seeding, Professor Agrawal said experiments are meant to test possibilities and may not always succeed. “If we fear failure and don’t undertake an experiment, then we will not make progress,” he said.
He further clarified that the overall cost is modest compared to the city’s spending on pollution control. Seeding a 300 sq km area costs about ₹60 lakh, or roughly ₹20,000 per sq km. If done throughout the winter, the total cost could reach ₹25–30 crore.
“The amount of money spent on pollution control in Delhi is much more,” he added.
Next Cloud Seeding Plan on Hold
The next phase of the cloud-seeding activity, which was scheduled for October 29, 2025, has been put on hold due to a lack of sufficient moisture in the clouds. Officials stated that the process can only be conducted under ideal atmospheric conditions.
Delhi Environment Minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa said the national capital has taken a major science-based step by adopting cloud seeding as a pollution control method.
Delhi AQI Improves Slightly but Remains Poor
Meanwhile, Delhi’s air quality index (AQI) improved slightly on Wednesday but remained in the “poor” category. According to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), Delhi recorded an AQI of 269 at noon, compared to 294 on Tuesday and 301 on Monday.
Despite the improvement, 11 of 38 monitoring stations continued to record AQI in the “very poor” range. The RK Puram station showed an AQI of 308, while Anand Vihar recorded 307 as of 7:00 am.
