{"id":46565,"date":"2025-06-30T20:44:05","date_gmt":"2025-06-30T15:14:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/?p=46565"},"modified":"2025-07-04T18:12:46","modified_gmt":"2025-07-04T12:42:46","slug":"artificial-rain-in-delhi","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/current-affairs\/30-06-2025\/artificial-rain-in-delhi","title":{"rendered":"Artificial Rain in Delhi"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong>Syllabus: GS3\/ Environment<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>In News<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Delhi is set to launch its first-ever cloud seeding trial to combat its persistent air pollution through artificial rain. The initiative is coordinated by IIT Kanpur and IMD Pune.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>What is Artificial Rain?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Artificial rain<\/strong> refers to inducing precipitation by injecting certain chemicals into clouds to accelerate the process of raindrop formation.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/blog\/cloud-seeding\/\" data-type=\"link\" data-id=\"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/blog\/cloud-seeding\/\"><strong>Cloud seeding<\/strong><\/a> involves dispersing substances like:\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Silver iodide (AgI)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Potassium iodide<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Sodium chloride<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Dry ice (CO\u2082)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>These act as condensation nuclei, attracting water droplets, which then combine to form rain.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Conditions Required: <\/strong>Potential rain-bearing clouds, sufficient humidity and atmospheric instability &amp; Favorable wind and temperature conditions.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-large is-resized\"><img data-dominant-color=\"bfcdd2\" data-has-transparency=\"false\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"497\" src=\"https:\/\/wp-images.nextias.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/format=auto\/ca\/uploads\/2025\/06\/What-is-Artificial-Rain-1024x497.png\" alt=\"how to create artificial rain\" class=\"not-transparent wp-image-46566\" style=\"--dominant-color: #bfcdd2; width:484px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/wp-images.nextias.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/format=auto\/ca\/uploads\/2025\/06\/What-is-Artificial-Rain-1024x497.png 1024w, https:\/\/wp-images.nextias.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/format=auto\/ca\/uploads\/2025\/06\/What-is-Artificial-Rain-300x146.png 300w, https:\/\/wp-images.nextias.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/format=auto\/ca\/uploads\/2025\/06\/What-is-Artificial-Rain-768x372.png 768w, https:\/\/wp-images.nextias.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/format=auto\/ca\/uploads\/2025\/06\/What-is-Artificial-Rain.png 1200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Advantages of Cloud Seeding<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Air Pollution Mitigation: <\/strong>In cities like Delhi, artificial rain can wash down particulate matter and other pollutants, providing temporary relief from severe air pollution.&nbsp;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Drought Mitigation and Water Resource Augmentation: <\/strong>States like Maharashtra and Karnataka have used cloud seeding to combat water shortages (e.g., &#8220;Project Meghdoot&#8221; and &#8220;Varshadhari&#8221;).<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Forest Fire Control:<\/strong> By increasing moisture levels, cloud seeding can potentially reduce the risk and intensity of wildfires.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Science-backed Intervention:<\/strong> Several countries like China, Thailand, UAE, and USA (Texas, Nevada) use cloud seeding for weather control, drought mitigation, and even clearing skies during major events (e.g., 2008 Beijing Olympics).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Concerns &amp; Criticism<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Environmental Damage:<\/strong> Runoff from cloud-seeded rains can contaminate lakes, rivers, and groundwater.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Temporary Solution to a Structural Problem:<\/strong> Core issues like stubble burning, vehicular emissions, and urban planning remain unaddressed.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Ethical and Legal Issues:<\/strong> The ability to manipulate weather raises complex ethical questions about human intervention in natural processes &amp; its implications.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Health and Ecosystem Risks:<\/strong> Long-term chemical accumulation in soil may affect plant growth, reduce soil fertility, and enter the food chain.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Way Ahead<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Use Artificial Rain as a Last Resort:<\/strong> Should be opted only when AQI breaches dangerous levels.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Robust Scientific Backing:<\/strong> Need for real-time satellite data, Doppler radars, and meteorological modelling.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Invest in Permanent Air Quality Solutions: <\/strong>Electric vehicle (EV) push, Green infrastructure (urban forests, vertical gardens) &amp; crop residue management (e.g., PUSA bio-decomposer).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Source: TOI<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<h3><strong>In News<\/strong><\/h3>\n<li class=\"ms-5\">Delhi is set to launch its first-ever cloud seeding trial to combat its persistent air pollution through artificial rain. The initiative is coordinated by IIT Kanpur and IMD Pune.<\/li>\n<p><\/p>\n<h3><strong>Advantages of Cloud Seeding<\/strong><\/h3>\n<li class=\"ms-5\">Air Pollution Mitigation: In cities like Delhi, artificial rain can wash down particulate matter and other pollutants, providing temporary relief from severe air pollution.\u00a0<\/li>\n<li class=\"ms-5\">Drought Mitigation and Water Resource Augmentation: States like Maharashtra and Karnataka have used cloud seeding to combat water shortages (e.g., &#8220;Project Meghdoot&#8221; and &#8220;Varshadhari&#8221;).<\/li>\n<li class=\"ms-5\">Forest Fire Control: By increasing moisture levels, cloud seeding can potentially reduce the risk and intensity of wildfires.<\/li>\n<li class=\"ms-5\">Science-backed Intervention: Several countries like China, Thailand, UAE, and USA (Texas, Nevada) use cloud seeding for weather control, drought mitigation, and even clearing skies during major events (e.g., 2008 Beijing Olympics).<\/li>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/current-affairs\/30-06-2025\/artificial-rain-in-delhi\" class=\"btn btn-primary btn-sm float-end\">Read\u00a0More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[21],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-46565","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-current-affairs"],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46565","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/15"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=46565"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46565\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":46938,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46565\/revisions\/46938"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=46565"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=46565"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=46565"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}