Is Delhi going to witness artificial rain on November 20-21?

Delhi, the national capital who has been inhaling the toxic air from past few days, is planning to curb the pollution. According to the sources, the Delhi government is planning a spell of artificial rain in Delhi on November 20-21 which expected to provide relief to residents gasping due to a sharp dip in air quality over the past one week. 

The air quality index (AQI) in Delhi and NCR has remained in the 'severe' category for past few days in a row due to a combination of crop residue burning in neighbouring states and local factors such as vehicular emissions and smoke from factories.

Meanwhile, Delhi Environment Minister Gopal Rai who shared the “Winter Action Plan” in the month of October had been into talks with a team from IIT Kanpur, which proposed that a spell of artificial rain may help amid the air emergency in the national capital. 

While speaking to ANI, Delhi Environment Minister Gopal Rai said, "A meeting with the IIT Kanpur team was held today regarding the possibility of cloud seeding i.e., artificial rain in wake of pollution situation... This proposal was first presented by IIT  Kanpur in that meeting...In today's meeting, it was decided that tomorrow they will send a detailed proposal to the Government. If we receive their proposal tomorrow, we will present this before the Supreme Court...They (IIT Kanpur) estimate that it can be cloudy on 20-21 November in Delhi. Keeping that in mind, we have asked them to send a proposal tomorrow and then we will present it before Court...If it is cloudy on 20-21 November and all permissions are obtained the pilot can be executed that day..."

#WATCH | Delhi Environment Minister Gopal Rai says, "A meeting with the IIT Kanpur team was held today regarding the possibility of cloud seeding i.e., artificial rain in wake of pollution situation... This proposal was first presented by IIT Kanpur in that meeting...In today's… https://t.co/zosnw8k2d1 pic.twitter.com/IYfBpc4yDk

— ANI (@ANI) November 8, 2023

The meeting was called by the environment minister along with other ministers of Delhi at 12.30 pm on Thursday to discuss the air pollution issue.

It is to be noted here that the Supreme Court had taken strong note of the pollution in Delhi and said it cannot allow a political battle to play out with people’s health. The top court had asked Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan to stop stubble burning at once.