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Delhi conducted its first trial to address destructive air pollution with artificial rainClaims of success despite experts expressing skepticism.
Air quality in the Indian capital dropped to “hazardous” levels on Tuesday after massive fireworks were set off overnight to celebrate a Hindu festival. Diwali Seasonal pollution has worsened.
The capital faces toxic smog almost every winter, as smoke and particulate matter from Diwali fireworks, vehicle traffic, construction activities and burning of crop residues combined with stagnant weather conditions drive down the air quality over much of northern India.
this year’s pollution Delhi has faced the worst situation in the last few years. A MLA has Then blamed the rich for “revenge fireworks” Supreme Court A decade-old ban on Diwali pyrotechnics was lifted.
court, Despite warnings of increased smog in winter, use of “green” was permitted. fireworks“On the eve and day of the festival, from 6am to 7am and 8pm to 10pm, for a pair of short windows, it was claimed they produced about 30 per cent less emissions than conventional ones. But the restrictions were widely ignored in the city. huge fireworks are going off Until just after midnight.
By Tuesday morning, many Some parts of the capital were covered with a thick blanket of smog Due to which visibility reduced to a few hundred meters.
The Central Pollution Control Board’s monitoring system has classified most of Delhi as having “severe” air quality, with AQI readings rising above 1,300 at Mandir Marg and Lodhi Road. An AQI reading above 400 indicates “severe” or “hazardous” air quality, a level at which breathing is considered unhealthy for everyone, not just people with respiratory or heart problems.
On Thursday, as the city of more than 30 million people was breathing toxic air, state Chief Minister Rekha Gupta said the capital was set for its first artificial rain as a cloud-seeding trial in the Burari region was successful.
“For the first time in Delhi, preparations to induce artificial rain through cloud seeding have been completed, marking an important technological milestone in the capital’s fight against air pollution. Experts successfully conducted a trial run in the Burari area on Thursday,” Ms Gupta said.
Delhi may remain cloudy on October 28, 29 and 30 and if the weather remains “favourable”, the city is likely to receive artificial rain on October 29, he said on the occasion.
In cloud seeding, a small aircraft drops a mixture of silver iodide, iodized salt, and rock salt into moisture-rich clouds above a city. The particles act as seeds for raindrops, causing precipitation that can wash hazardous pollutants from the atmosphere.
Ms Gupta’s government faced widespread criticism for promoting “green” fireworks for Diwali.
The government, run by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s BJP party, had asked the Supreme Court to ease the Diwali ban, proposing the use of “green fireworks” as a compromise between “tradition and environment”.
Delhi ranks among the most polluted megacities in the world air pollution According to a report by the Energy Policy Institute at the University of Chicago, the average life expectancy of its residents has fallen by nearly 12 years compared to levels considered safe by WHO.
Selling the new plan to tackle air pollution with artificial rain to the public, Ms Gupta said it was not only technically historic but also established a scientific approach to solving the problem.
“The government aims to clean the capital’s air and balance its environment through this innovation,” he said, a day after pollution levels in Delhi exceeded WHO’s safe limit of 15 micrograms per cubic meter by 120 times.
While artificial rain may provide temporary relief, experts say only sustained efforts to curb emissions from vehicles, construction and crop residue burning will lead to lasting improvements in air quality.
Cloud seeding is used in the UAE, US and China to increase rainfall, reduce hail damage or clear fog, with studies indicating that it can increase rainfall by 5 to 15 percent under suitable conditions.
But experts say that there is no guarantee of its working in Delhi and if the root causes are not addressed, it provides short-term relief from pollution.
“In fact, Delhi’s plan for cloud seeding is a textbook case of misapplication of science and disregard for ethics,” said Shahzad Ghani, assistant professor at the Center for Atmospheric Sciences at IIT Delhi.
“The snake-oil solution will not clean the air in Delhi or the rest of North India,” he wrote in an article. The Hindu paper, “Instead, courage is needed on the ground: to reduce sources of pollution and pursue equitable, evidence-based action. Anything less than this is not just bad science – it is an ethical failure, a distraction from the patient, unworkable work required to ensure clean air year-round.”