“After experiencing a gentle drizzle, Delhi witnesses a marginal enhancement in air quality; anticipates further precipitation throughout the day.
Rainfall fell on Thursday and Friday night in a number of places in Delhi, Gurugram, Noida, and other nearby areas of the National Capital Region (NCR), providing much-needed relief from the poor air quality of the previous few days.
Rainfall fell on Thursday and Friday night in a number of places in Delhi, Gurugram, Noida, and other nearby areas of the National Capital Region (NCR), providing much-needed relief from the poor air quality of the previous few days.
The precipitation in the country’s capital aligns with the continuous initiatives of the municipal administration to implement the notion of “synthetic precipitation,” aiming to mitigate the environmental pollution within the region.
Images captured from the Kartavya Path, ITO, and the border between Delhi and Noida revealed light to moderate rain showers. In the meantime, the air quality index (AQI) in Delhi was less than 100 this morning compared to 400+ at night at multiple monitoring stations.
On Friday morning, light to moderate intensity intermittent rainfall is expected over and around Delhi-NCR, including Rajiv Chowk, ITO, India Gate, Akshardham, Safdarjung, RK Puram, and Lajpat Nagar, according to the Regional Weather Forecasting Centre (RWFC).
There’s also a chance of showers in Noida, Dadri, Greater Noida, Faridabad, Jind, Panipat, Mattanhail, Jhajjar, Farukhnagar, Kosali, Mahendargarh, Narnaul, Hodal (Haryana), Meerut, Modinagar, Kithor, Bulandshahar, Jahangirabad, Anupshahar, Bahajoi, Pahasu, Debai, Narora, Gabhana, Atrauli, Aligarh.
In order to lower the AQI of the nation’s capital, Delhi Environment Minister Gopal Rai met on Wednesday with a group from IIT-Kanpur to explore the possibility of creating artificial rainfall through cloud seeding. Following the meeting, the minister announced that if the clouds persisted, artificial rain could be used on November 20–21.
According to officials cited by PTI, the Delhi government has directed the chief secretary to present the government’s position before the Supreme Court on Friday. The government has also decided to cover the full cost of artificial rain in order to combat hazardous air pollution in the city and Delhi Rain.
The Delhi government said on Thursday that it can set up the city’s first artificial rain by November 20 if the Centre approves of the decision.
Cloud seeding is a technique that creates artificial rain by dispersing materials into the atmosphere to promote condensation and precipitation. Dry ice (solid carbon dioxide), potassium iodide, and silver iodide are the materials most frequently used for cloud seeding. These substances serve as the nuclei that allow water vapour to condense and eventually form rain or snow.
This method of modifying the weather in Delhi Rain has been used all over the world, but mostly in areas that are facing drought or water scarcity.
The Supreme Court was notified by the Delhi Government on Friday that they intended to create artificial rain in the nation’s capital, but that they would require “Securing approvals from various Union ministries poses a challenging hurdle in navigating through regulatory intricacies.”
The Delhi government was urged by the highest court to request permission from the Centre, questioning why the court should become involved.
The Chief Secretary of Delhi filed an affidavit in the Supreme Court on Friday with a proposal. A number of petitions concerning the increasing levels of air pollution in Delhi and the surrounding states were being heard by the court.
In an endeavor to address air quality concerns in the country’s capital, the Delhi administration is actively exploring the feasibility of inducing artificial rain via cloud seeding this month.Engaging in a constructive dialogue this week, Gopal Rai, the Environment Minister overseeing Delhi’s environmental concerns, convened with experts from IIT Kanpur to delve into the intricacies of artificial rain technologies.
The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government had earlier said it could set up the first phase of artificial rain in the city by November 20 if the Centre supported the decision. Additionally, the Chief Secretary was instructed to submit the required paperwork to the centre in order to obtain authorization for the fake rain.
On Thursday, the government declared that it would pay the entire Rs 13 crore cost of the Phase 1 and Phase 2 pilot programmes for creating artificial rain.
“During this period, the Supreme Court rebuked the Arvind Kejriwal-led administration regarding its approach to pollution control, emphasizing, ‘The pace of action only accelerates when we step in, intervening repeatedly over the years.”
While the origins of pollution are widely acknowledged, there is a prevailing reliance on the judiciary to intervene. Despite having solutions at our disposal for every problem, the lack of implementation persists.
The Supreme Court emphatically declares its pursuit of tangible results, asserting, ‘We demand solutions, not expertise.’ The recent scrutiny from the apex court towards the Delhi government’s pollution control strategies, particularly the effectiveness of the primary odd-even car rationing scheme, underscores the criticism faced earlier this week.”
