Delhi govt’s Rs 3.2 crore cloud-seeding experiment fails, experts call it costly, unsustainable
New Delhi: Despite high hopes and a hefty budget, Delhi government's much-publicised cloud-seeding experiment has failed to bring significant rainfall, leaving experts questioning the efficacy of the initiative.
The Delhi government’s cloud seeding trials, conducted on Tuesday, have been described as a “hugely expensive, temporary and unsustainable” measure to tackle the capital’s toxic pollution, according to experts cited by the Times of India. Even if artificial rain briefly reduces pollutants, they warn, pollution levels rebound within a day or two.
Under a memorandum of understanding between the Delhi environment department and IIT-Kanpur, over Rs 3.2 crore has been allocated for five cloud-seeding trials — roughly Rs 64 lakh per trial. Three trials conducted in north Delhi failed to produce any major rainfall. Meanwhile, the city’s Air Quality Index (AQI) has continued to hover in the ‘very poor’ to ‘poor’ range.
Anumita Roychowdhury, Executive Director of Research and Advocacy at the Centre for Science and Environment, noted that substantial rainfall has yet to be recorded after cloud seeding. “Even if the rains wash out the pollutants, the pollution will bounce back quickly. The impact lasts from hours to a couple of days,” TOI quoted her as saying.
Roychowdhury added that the initiative is not sustainable and cannot be repeated throughout the winter. She emphasised that investments should focus on reducing emissions at the source for long-term improvements in air quality and public health.
Sunil Dahiya, founder and lead analyst of the think tank EnviroCatalysts, said that improving air quality requires tackling sector-specific emissions from transport, power, and construction. He added that no real impact can be achieved without addressing these sources.
"Cosmetic measures may create short-term visibility benefits but are not sustainable solutions. The focus should instead be on coordinated action across states and agencies through an airshed-based approach that targets the actual sources of pollution," TOI quoted him as saying.
Environmental activist Bhavreen Kandhari pointed out that Delhi’s atmosphere already had enough moisture due to a western disturbance, which naturally brings rain. “Under such circumstances, cloud seeding adds little scientific value; it becomes a costly experiment chasing what nature is already prepared to deliver. Clean air will not come from artificial rain, but from sustained reductions in emissions, dust control, and responsible policy," Kandhari added.
While cloud seeding may seem futuristic, experts stress that Delhi’s true challenge is on the ground, not in the sky. With increasing construction dust, vehicle emissions, and industrial pollution, the city’s air quality cannot be improved through one-off measures. Sustainable progress, they say, depends on strict enforcement of pollution control norms, coordinated regional action, and long-term policy initiatives.
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Fire in coach of New Delhi-Chennai express train; no casualty
Nagpur (PTI): A coach of the New Delhi-Chennai Grant Trunk Express caught fire in Maharashtra's Wardha district on Tuesday morning, railway officials said.
There were no casualties, they said.
Train 12616 New Delhi-Chennai (Tambaram) Grant Trunk Express left from Nagpur in the morning. While it was heading towards Sindi railway station in Wardha, smoke was detected in the last guard coach of the train at 11.09 am, Central Railway spokesperson Sanjay Muley told PTI.
The train was stopped on the Sindi-Tuljapur section, the affected coach was detached immediately, and the fire brigade was called, he said.
All passengers in the train and the coach concerned were safe, the official said.
The cause of the fire will be known after a detailed investigation.
The train will resume its journey in some time without the affected coach, the official added.
