Delhi will conduct its first cloud seeding trial in early September to trigger artificial rain and combat air pollution, Environment Minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa announced Friday. The ₹3.21 crore pilot project, originally scheduled for July, was postponed following advice from meteorological experts who deemed September's retreating monsoon conditions more suitable.

Led by IIT-Kanpur's Department of Aerospace Engineering, the trials will use a specially equipped Cessna 206-H aircraft to release hygroscopic particles like sodium chloride into clouds over pollution-prone areas including Rohini, Bawana, Alipur, and Burari. Five sorties are planned across north Delhi and parts of Uttar Pradesh.

"This is a scientific intervention to combat air pollution. If successful, it will open a new avenue for Delhi to deal with hazardous air quality," Sirsa stated.