Cloud seeding trials in Delhi helped reduce particulate matter at targeted locations: Report

New Delhi: The cloud seeding trials conducted in Delhi on Tuesday helped in the reduction of particulate matter at locations where the exercise was carried out even as conditions were not ideal for it, an official report said.

The report said that two precipitation events were recorded -- Noida at 4 pm (0.1 mm of rain) and Greater Noida at 4 pm (0.2 mm). The official government report said data from 20 locations were collected for AQI monitoring, especially particulate matter PM2.5 and PM10, which will be directly impacted by cloud seeding.

"The PM2.5 was 221, 230 and 229 reported from Mayur Vihar, Karol Bagh and Burari respectively before cloud seeding, which reduced to 207, 206 and 203 respectively after the first seeding. Similarly, PM10 was 207, 206 and 209, which got reduced to 177, 163 and 177 at Mayur Vihar, Karol Bagh and Burari respectively," said the report.


The moisture content predicted by the India Meteorological Department (IMD) and other agencies remained low at 10-15 per cent, which is not an ideal condition for cloud seeding. However, this situation is also suitable for judging the effectiveness of the seeding material in low-moisture conditions, the report said.

The report noted that winds were negligible at that time but the denser moisture content created due to seeding particles has helped in settling down a portion of these particles, which translated to these reductions.

The starting point was the IIT Kanpur airstrip from where the flight took off at 12.13 pm and the seeding points covered were Khekra, Burari, North Karol Bagh, Mayur Vihar, Sadakpur and Bhojpur.

The second seeding sortie was conducted from Meerut airstrip itself, carrying four kilograms of seeding material and landing back at Meerut airstrip.

The seeding started at 3.45 pm, with the first seeding point at Khekra at 4.08 pm, followed by Burari, around Mayur Vihar, Pavi Sadakpur, Noida, Bhojpur, Modinagar and Meerut, landing back at 4.45 pm, the report said.