NEW DELHI: The Delhi government is working on securing flight permissions, arranging aircraft & pilots and coordinating with multiple agencies for a proposed cloud-seeding exercise—a weather-modification technique aimed at enhancing a cloud’s ability to produce rain.
The process involves dispersing substances such as silver iodide and other compounds into suitable clouds to encourage the formation of raindrops or ice crystals.
According to the sources, a significant part of the ongoing work relates to operational preparations, an area that emerged as a major challenge during earlier cloud-seeding attempts in Delhi. While the scientific and technical elements of the project are being developed by IIT-Kanpur, authorities are also focused on ensuring that practical issues do not hinder the exercise when suitable weather conditions arise.
“During previous attempts, securing flight permissions, arranging aircraft & pilots and coordinating take-off schedules within a limited time window became a major hurdle,” a source revealed, noting that cloud-seeding operations require multiple clearances and coordination among several agencies, leaving little room for delays once favourable meteorological conditions develop. Therefore, authorities are striving to put most of these arrangements in place in advance rather than waiting for the weather window to open.
“The aim is to ensure that when the required weather conditions are available, the operation can be carried out without administrative or logistical bottlenecks,” an official privy to the matter added.