In a letter addressed to Union Minister for Environment Bhupender Yadav, Rai wrote, “I am writing to bring to your kind attention the alarming levels of air pollution which affects Delhi during the winter season and to consider implementation of cloud seeding as a measure to combat this crisis.”
He said during every winter season, the air quality in Delhi reaches hazardous levels due to smog concentration and low wind speed, posing severe health risks to the population and environmental degradation.
“This year Deepawali is going to coincide with parali burning which is likely to turn the air quality hazardous. The Government of Delhi has already implemented various measures to combat air pollution under Winter Action Plan and is making continuous efforts to explore alternate solutions for immediate relief, in case of air quality becoming alarming,” Rai said.
Stating that cloud seeding is a process that involves the artificial induction of rain, to reduce air pollution by washing out pollutants from the atmosphere, he said, “Given the critical situation in Delhi during the month of November every year, I believe it is imperative to consider the feasibility of this method in our context.”
“During 2023, the Delhi government attempted to consider cloud seeding as an emergency measure during the days when air quality turned hazardous and a presentation was also made by IIT, Kanpur on the matter. It was noticed during the presentation that prior clearances from various agencies of Government of India (GOI) are required to implement cloud seeding at any particular spot,” he said.
Rai further said, “In this regard, I request you to convene an immediate meeting to coordinate with all stakeholders, including representatives from the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Delhi government, CPCB, India Meteorological Department, Environmental experts, and other agencies concerned with an objective to evaluate the potential of cloud seeding as an emergency measure and to obtain necessary permissions from various agencies under GOI to outline a coordinated plan of action.”