Today the news papers reported that Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has directed his officials to explore the possibility of cloud seeding for artificial rain.
Delhi NCR has been engulfed in heavy smog since Diwali with pollution levels exceeding over 10 times the safe limit.
Good amounts of rainfall would certainly lower the pollution levels.
This smog is mainly attributed due to the mass burning of crop stubble in the neighbouring states of Punjab and Haryana. Farmers traditionally follow this practice each year to easily clear the remains of the previous crops.
This practice has been banned, but farmers fail to cease as it’s the cheapest method to get the job done.
Cloud seeding is probably a viable option, but not in the near future.
The Cloud seeding process is not quite that simple. It requires an aircraft to carry large amounts of pressurised chemical substances and disperse them into the air that serve as cloud condensation or ice nuclei, which are meant to alter the micro physical processes within the clouds over the desired geo graphical area.
Cloud seeding has been successful over some places in China.
In India, cloud seeding operations were attempted in the states of Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh. None of the states found success.
Here’s why cloud seeding is not an option for Delhi:
1. Cloud seeding requires moisture laden clouds and there are none at the moment over Delhi.
2. The expanse of Delhi will require massive amounts of resources, which just to pull together would take months.
3. Uncertainty: Seeded clouds may not give rain immediately and could possibly travel out of the desired region thus wasting the entire exercise.
4. Cloud seeding does not guarantee rain. It always remains to be a matter of chance.
The science of cloud seeding requires further refinement.
Nevertheless, the good news is that dry winds from northwest have begun and the pollution should be blown away to reduce in the next 3-4 days.
Please Note: Any information picked from here should be attributed to skymetweather.com
