The capital’s ambitious attempt to trigger artificial rain via cloud-seeding over New Delhi has been placed on hold after two sortie flights failed to yield meaningful rainfall. The operation, led by IIT Kanpur in cooperation with the Delhi government, involved releasing flares and seeding agents into clouds over target zones. 

Despite the preparations, neither trial brought about significant rain, and atmospheric data revealed very low moisture content in the targeted cloud bands - an essential prerequisite for cloud seeding to succeed. IIT Kanpur pointed to this “insufficient moisture” as the primary reason for the lack of rainfall.

The project was designed to complement Delhi’s pollution-control efforts: by generating rain, the city hoped to wash particulate matter from the air during the peak smog season, when the Air Quality Index often reaches alarming levels. 

While the cloud-seeding technique remains under review, experts caution it is no substitute for long-term emission controls and structural pollution-abatement solutions.