Delhi govt's cloud seeding trial a courageous, scientific step; more trials ahead: Ashish Sood

New Delhi: Delhi Education Minister Ashish Sood on Friday backed the recent cloud seeding trials in the national capital, saying the initiative by the Rekha Gupta-led government was a "courageous and scientific step" towards improving the city's air quality.

Referring to the trials conducted in collaboration with IIT Kanpur, Sood said IIT Kanpur Director Manindra Agarwal confirmed the cloud seeding operations were successful.

"Wherever these trials were conducted, PM2.5 levels dropped by 6 to 11 per cent and PM10 levels fell by 14 to 21 per cent," he said.

Sood said when the previous government had the opportunity to undertake such trials in 2023–24, it did not move forward, citing a lack of permission from the Centre.

"The current government sought all necessary approvals, including from the DGCA, and completed the trials responsibly," he said.

He further informed that the government plans to conduct similar trials in the coming days, based on the scientific outcomes of the initial phase and said, "We will not stop at one experiment. These results provide a scientific way forward to address Delhi's pollution problem."

Reiterating the government's commitment to environmental improvement, Sood said the administration is determined to explore every viable measure to mitigate pollution and enhance air quality in the national capital.

On Tuesday, the Delhi government conducted two cloud-seeding trials in collaboration with IIT-Kanpur in parts of Delhi, including Burari, north Karol Bagh, Mayur Vihar and Badli.