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Delhi cloud-seeding trials helped reduce particulate matter, says govt report
The report further said that two precipitation events had been recorded in Noida and Greater Noida after the cloud-seeding.
The cloud-seeding trials carried out in Delhi on Tuesday helped reduce particulate matter at the locations where they were carried out, the official government report on the trials said. The report highlighted that conditions were not ideal for the trial.
However, the report stated that two precipitation events had been recorded in Noida and Greater Noida after the cloud-seeding, according to PTI news agency. Noida at 4 pm recorded 0.1 mm of rain, while Greater Noida at 4 pm received 0.2 mm of rainfall.
It said that the moisture content predicted by the India Meteorological Department (IMD) was low at 10-15 per cent, which is not ideal for cloud seeding to induce artificial rain. However, this condition is suitable for gauging the effectiveness of eeding material in low-moisture conditions, according to the report.
To deduce the effect of the trials, data from 20 locations were collected for AQI monitoring, especially that of PM2.5 and PM10, which will be directly impacted, the report said.
“The PM2.5 was 221, 230 and 229 reported from Mayur Vihar, Karol Bagh and Burari respectively before cloud seeding, which reduced to 207, 206 and 203 respectively after the first seeding,” the official report said.
“Similarly, PM10 was 207, 206 and 209, which got reduced to 177, 163 and 177 at Mayur Vihar, Karol Bagh and Burari respectively,” it added.
The report said that winds were negligible at the time of the trials. However, the denser moisture content created due to the seeding particles helped in settling down a portion of these particles, thus leading to the reduction.
The Cessna aircraft used for seeding took off at 12.13 pm on Tuesday from the IIT Kanpur airstrip, and covered Khekra, Burari, North Karol Bagh, Mayur Vihar, Sadakpur and Bhojpur, PTI reported.
The second trial was conducted from the Meerut airstrip, with the aircraft carrying four kilograms of seeding material. The seeding began at 3.45 pm, with the first point being Khekra where trial took place at 4.08 pm.
This was followed by Burari, Mayur Vihar, Pavi Sadakpur, Noida, Bhojpur, Modinagar and Meerut. The aircraft landed back at the Meerut airstrip at 4.45 pm, the report stated.
