RTI reveals Delhi Government Wastes ₹38 Lakh On Artificial Rain Experiment

Additionally, he said, “Once things get streamlined and flights operate from near Delhi, all the fixed costs will get amortised. Then the seeding cost will be substantially lower than what these numbers indicate.” 

Despite the actual amount spent by the Delhi government ending up being less than what was estimated and intended for the project, this venture by the government highlighted the lack of willingness to take sterner and more effective decisions to cut air pollution in the capital. 

Why the ₹37 lakh project failed 

On the morning of October 28, IIT Kanpur’s aircraft flew nearly 400 km from Kanpur to Delhi, dispersing a silver iodide mixture over Burari, Mayur Vihar and Karol Bagh to induce rainfall. A second attempt three hours later also failed, and the city’s air quality remained in the “very poor” category.

The next day, Delhi Environment Minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa said, “Rain after seeding could occur anytime in the next 24 hours, depending on cloud moisture. Initial radar readings and ground reports recorded light rainfall at the Delhi–Noida border around 4 pm, indicating some positive response.”

However, Delhi saw no significant rain, only scanty showers near Noida. Scientists blamed the failure on low moisture content in the clouds. Cloud seeding generally requires around 50 per cent moisture, but on the day of the attempt, the clouds contained only 15 per cent. The IIT Kanpur team noted that humidity levels of 10–15 per cent were far below what is considered favourable for success.

IIT Kanpur Director Manindra Agarwal said after the ‘dry run’ that cloud seeding cannot be a long-term solution for Delhi’s persistent pollution problem. According to BBC Hindi, he added: “One measure of success is if it rains, which certainly did not happen. The moisture content in the clouds was very low. We will continue our efforts in the near future.”

 There were warning signs 

The Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) and the Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES) confirmed to The Hindu that data on cloud cover and humidity were shared with the IIT Kanpur team before the 28 October cloud seeding flight.

A senior MoES scientist said, “We didn’t give any recommendations but shared our input regarding clouds, which was that there were no clouds.” The scientist added that no advice was offered, citing the precedent set by the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM), Pune, whose previous cloud seeding experiments had shown no reliable evidence of success.

IIT Kanpur Director Manindra Agarwal responded that the team was aware of the IMD forecasts. “The decision to proceed despite unfavourable cloud conditions was deliberate,” he said, as the team wanted to test the efficacy of their proprietary solution. “We knew there was less than 15 per cent moisture in the clouds, which is too little for seeding, but we needed data to assess our indigenously made salt mixture.”

A separate study from IIT Delhi concluded that Delhi’s winter is climatically unsuitable for consistent cloud seeding, due to low moisture and saturation, particularly during December and January, when pollution peaks. IIT research highlighted that the driest winter conditions coincide with the city’s most severe pollution episodes, making cloud seeding impractical.

Despite this data, previous studies and forecasts pointing to an unfavourable outcome, the ₹38 lakh cloud seeding trial went ahead. Agarwal justified it as “collecting data” and noted it had worked in China and the UAE. Had the project continued, costs could have run into crores, yet it failed even as a short-term solution for Delhi’s air quality.

With the city’s AQI at 382, close to the 'severe' threshold, and a plume of volcanic ash from Ethiopia adding to pollution, it is time for the Delhi government to invest in proven measures to protect the capital’s air.