Cloud seeding project of IIT Kanpur approved by Union Government to induce artificial rain to clear Delhi air

The Union Ministry of Environment has recently approved a project led by scientists at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kanpur to induce artificial rain via cloud seeding to clear smog in Delhi. The Cloud seeding project will have an aircraft fly into the clouds and inject silver iodide, which will lead to the formation of ice crystals that will make the clouds denser, cause them to condense into rain and settle atmospheric dust enough to clear the sky. The researchers at IIT-Kanpur will use an aircraft of the National Remote Sensing Agency (NRSA), an ISRO-affiliated body for the exercise. The Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) will provide forecasts on the likelihood of conducive clouds. The cloud seeding is not new to India — Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra have experimented with it in limited trials through the decades to address droughts. Though, this is the first time it will be tried during the winters to battle pollution.