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PTINew Delhi: An aircraft fires flares during cloud-seeding trial, in New Delhi. New Delhi: Three rounds of cloud seeding aimed at producing artificial rains have so far been carried out in the national capital, Delhi environment minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa told ET. The first round was conducted last week, while the other two were carried out on TuesdayNo rains were reported in Delhi till 9 pm Tuesday, said a researcher at the Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur, which is helping the Delhi government in these operations. Two more rounds are planned for Wednesday, he said.The Delhi government is spending Rs 3.21 crore for cloud seeding, aimed at bringing rains to reduce air pollution levels in the landlocked city where the air quality index (AQI) has mostly been in the very poor category (above 300) over the last few days.On Tuesday, a Cessna-206H modified aircraft that took off from Kanpur and conducted chemical seeding twice: in the afternoon and the evening.“IIT-Kanpur researchers are of the opinion that up to nine trials can be conducted,” Sirsa said.Live EventsThe researchers are keen to conduct the cloud seeding operations at multiple levels of moisture content, he said. “The first three operations were conducted with only 10-20% moisture content in the clouds.”Around half a dozen flares were used for the seeding, a mix that included nano-sized silver iodide (a very small portion), micro-sized common salt, and rock salt combined, with desiccants to prevent particles from forming lumps, and some internal pyrotechnic mix into the air current, according to IIT-Kanpur researchers.“The area covered was 25 nautical miles in length and 4 nautical miles in width between Khekra and Burari in the first operation,” said the researcher cited earlier.Cloud seeding is part of the Delhi government's pollution control plan for this winter, which includes five trials this year. "Even light artificial rain can wash away pollutants and provide relief to citizens," minister Sirsa said.He said multiple other efforts by the Delhi government are underway, including turning the entire bus fleet in Delhi electric, to tackle pollution.In addition to 10 faculty members, engineers and researchers at the IIT, the cloud seeding project is seeing participation from the ministries of environment, civil aviation, defence and home affairs, the IMD, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation and the Airports Authority of India, among other agencies.Cloud seeding involves changing the amount and/or type of precipitation from the clouds by dispersing substances (mostly salts) into the air from an aircraft. IIT-Kanpur provides the seeding mix to disperse the mixture as warm particles into the air current, while the IMD helps with cloud tracking.Add as a Reliable and Trusted News Source Add Now! (You can now subscribe to our Economic Times WhatsApp channel) Read More News oncloud seeding Delhiartificial rain DelhiDelhi pollution controlIIT Kanpur cloud seedingair quality index DelhiDelhi environment minister (Catch all the Business News, Breaking News and Latest News Updates on The Economic Times.) Subscribe to The Economic Times Prime and read the ET ePaper online....moreless (You can now subscribe to our Economic Times WhatsApp channel)Read More News oncloud seeding Delhiartificial rain DelhiDelhi pollution controlIIT Kanpur cloud seedingair quality index DelhiDelhi environment minister(Catch all the Business News, Breaking News and Latest News Updates on The Economic Times.) Subscribe to The Economic Times Prime and read the ET ePaper online....moreless Prime ExclusivesInvestment IdeasStock Report PlusePaperWealth Edition123View all Stories
