The Delhi Government is set to conduct artificial rain in the national capital to combat air pollution. Delhi Environment Minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa said cloud seeding is scheduled to take place between July 4 and July 11, depending on weather conditions.

The flight plan for artificial rain has been submitted to IMD Pune by IIT Kanpur for technical coordination.

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The minister said that weather conditions are not favourable for cloud seeding until July 3, thus flight operations have been proposed between July 4 and July 11. He said the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has also received the proposal and an alternate window has been requested if adverse weather conditions persist during the proposed cloud seeding dates.

The project involves five flights over low-security air zones in North-West and Outer Delhi. Each flight, lasting around 90 minutes, will cover approximately 100 square kilometres.

The formula developed by IIT Kanpur includes silver iodide nanoparticles, iodine-based salts, and rock salt, which are designed to accelerate droplet formation in moisture-laden clouds and trigger artificial rainfall.

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Sirsa described this initiative as a historic step in pollution control and emphasised that it is being implemented for the first time by the Environment Department under the leadership of Chief Minister Rekha Gupta. He stressed that the goal is to provide clean air to the people of Delhi.