Delhi set for first-ever artificial rain through cloud seeding on October 29: CM Rekha Gupta

Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta on Thursday announced that the city is set to witness its first-ever artificial rain through cloud seeding on October 29, if weather conditions remain favourable. Delhi's much-awaited artificial rain experiment, initially scheduled for July, was delayed because of the monsoon, changing weather patterns, disturbances, and now, the lack of suitable cloud cover.

According to the Delhi government, if the sky remains cloudy on October 29 or 30, as predicted by the Meteorological Department, artificial rain will be induced across several parts of the city. The process is expected to take around 40 to 50 minutes, during which rain will be generated over multiple areas to help reduce pollution levels.

"Preparations have been completed for the first time in Delhi to induce artificial rain through cloud seeding. Today, experts successfully tested it in the Burari area," Gupta said, adding that the India Meteorological Department (IMD) has forecast cloud presence on October 28, 29, and 30. "If conditions remain favourable, Delhi will witness its first artificial rain on October 29," she said.

Calling the initiative historic from a technological perspective,



the Chief Minister said it represents a significant step toward establishing a scientific solution to tackle air pollution in the city. "The government’s goal is to make Delhi’s air cleaner and restore environmental balance through innovation," Gupta said, extending best wishes to her cabinet colleague Manjinder Singh Sirsa and officials involved in the project.

Delhi Environment Minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa said that today, a trial seeding flight was done from IIT Kanpur to the Delhi area via Meerut, Khekra, Burari, Sadakpur, Bhojpur, Aligarh and back to IIT Kanpur, in which cloud seeding flares were fired between Khekra and Burari and over the Badli area using pyro techniques.

The technical trial for artificial rain lasted around four hours on Thursday. This included the time taken by the Cessna aircraft to take off from and return to IIT Kanpur. The plane remained in Delhi's airspace for about 40 to 50 minutes, conducting the test primarily over the Burari area in North Delhi.

Officials said the Delhi government had also planned to carry out the trial over Karol Bagh, but the proposal could not be executed as Air Traffic Control (ATC) did not grant the required permission.