00:00Hello and welcome. I'm Sonal Merothra Kapoor. This is Five Live.
00:12The countdown for artificial rains in Delhi has begun.
00:16In a bold attempt to clear the capital's choking skies,
00:20an aircraft from IIT Kanpur took off today,
00:24releasing special salt-based and silver iodine flares into clouds above Delhi.
00:30What is all that? I'll tell you that in just a moment.
00:32But what's the latest?
00:34Now, the Delhi Environment Minister, Majinder Sirsa,
00:36has confirmed that two rounds of what is called cloud seeding
00:41has already been completed, with a third expected any time now.
00:46So we are waiting to see if Delhi will witness its first ever artificial rainfall.
00:53And perhaps, will bring with it a temporary respite, if at all, from its toxic air.
01:00What are the chances?
01:02Well, right off the bat, I can tell you, it's a little 50-50 over there.
01:05But first, let's deep dive into what exactly is cloud seeding.
01:13First up, listen in from the Chief Minister.
01:15The third thing we have tried, and we have given a trial of cloud seeding,
01:24that if we can do it in Delhi, then we need to do it.
01:29But this is an experiment, we can see what happens, and if the experiment happens,
01:35it happens, it happens, it happens, it happens, it happens, it happens.
01:40Because there are many things that are dependent on cloud seeding,
01:44you have a bottle, the water, the water, the water, the water,
01:47the water, the water, all the things that we create, the conditions that we can create,
01:51the how difficult it is, it is a new thing to us for you.
01:55It is the first time in Delhi, but I encourage you to try to get the trial and get the result of Delhi.
02:02For the third trial, we will also start today.
02:05Our goal is to take care of every humidity in which humidity is possible.
02:12For the weather, the winds are from the north.
02:18And in Delhi, in Delhi, in Delhi, we will go anywhere.
02:23IIT, KANPUR, we believe that it will only be 15 minutes for 4 hours.
02:32Which will be very big.
02:35The humidity is less than 15 to 20 percent.
02:41It is now going to be tested.
02:42How much moisture will it be?
02:48I hope that IIT, KANPUR, will remain good.
02:55So you heard from the politicians there.
02:57But what exactly is cloud seeding?
03:00And can it really fix Delhi's dirty air?
03:03Let's start with this explainer and start by telling you how it actually works.
03:08Now think of cloud seeding as giving reluctant clouds a bit of a push.
03:12Scientists use aircraft or even rockets sometimes to spray tiny particles,
03:17usually from silver iodide, salt or even dry ice, into clouds that already contain moisture.
03:24These particles act as seeds, helping water droplets form and eventually fall as rain or sometimes as snow.
03:34Important to understand that cloud seeding can't really create rain from clear skies.
03:40It only enhances the precipitation when the right type of cloud is already present.
03:47So what is this Delhi experiment all about?
03:49Now Delhi is now preparing for its first large-scale artificial rain operation led by researchers from IIT, KANPUR.
03:57Now apparently a successful test run was already conducted earlier in Burari.
04:02And the main operation is planned between today and the 30th of October.
04:0628th to 30th of October.
04:08Depending all, not just on the science but on weather and flight visibility.
04:14The idea is simple, trigger light rainfall to help wash off the fine particulate matter PM 2.5 PM 10.
04:23Then blanket the city, you know this entire PM 2.5 PM 10 that blankets the city every winter.
04:29The hope is that even a brief drizzle could bring down the pollution levels for a few days.
04:36But experts caution that success depends entirely on the weather.
04:43If the clouds lack sufficient moisture, even perfectly executed seeding flights will fail to produce rain.
04:52So you see how it happens over there.
04:54The question really now is, has it worked elsewhere?
04:59Can it really produce results?
05:01So we picked up in our research three countries that have tried out crowd seeding.
05:07Number one is China.
05:09Now China runs the world's most extensive weather modification program.
05:14Studies show rainfall sort of increases to around 4 to 10% in certain regions where they tried it out.
05:22However, results vary widely and measuring success remains tricky.
05:28But China does do it.
05:30They do it constantly every time there's a big world event, a big sport event.
05:34They do cloud seeding as an active exercise.
05:37Then there is the UAE that has invested heavily again in seeding.
05:43With over 300 missions a year using aircraft and AI based targeting systems just like those on your screen right now.
05:50Studies there suggest that 20 to 25% more rainfall in seeded clouds.
05:57But experts again emphasize that major weather events such as the 2024 Dubai floods remember, were natural, not linked to seeding.
06:08So we've told you two countries so far, China where it happened only about 5% and then there is the UAE where floods came.
06:16And then questions were asked, was that because of cloud seeding?
06:20Let's look at the United States as a third country then.
06:22It uses it mainly for water management, especially in the Rockies.
06:27There is a project there called Snowy, which confirms small to measurable snow increase, typically 3 to 10%, useful for water storage, but not for solving for drought issues.
06:41So what are we telling you?
06:43In short, cloud seeding works when nature cooperates.
06:48It can nudge the clouds, but it can't replace them.
06:52But the question then is, will it help with pollution?
06:55That's the problem we face, unlike say what UAE or US faces.
07:00Now rain naturally helps clean up the air by dragging down dust and pollutants.
07:05So yes, if seeding succeeds in targeting air rain, Delhi's air could feel noticeably fresher for a short time.
07:14However, scientists warn that effect is temporary, often lasting just between 24 to 48 hours.
07:22The underlying causes of pollution, which is basically vehicle exhaust, industrial emissions and crop burning, will quickly rebuild that smog.
07:32Experts have described seeding as a
07:35...
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