Delhi’s cloud seeding trials were ‘purely an experiment’, says Govt official
Pune: The recent cloud seeding trials in New Delhi were carried out purely as an experimental exercise, according to Ministry of Earth Sciences Secretary M. Ravichandran, who emphasised that such tests are vital to evaluate feasibility before any operational use.
Speaking on Sunday at the 11th WMO Scientific Conference on Weather Modification, hosted by the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM) in Pune, Ravichandran said experiments of this kind can yield both positive and negative results.
“Everybody is trying different things, universities are trying, some institutes are trying. Only through such experiments and trials will we gain information. That was purely an experiment,” he said.
“Experiments can have both types of outcomes, failure or success, and it does not mean that we should refrain from conducting them,” he added.
Last month, the Delhi government, in collaboration with IIT Kanpur, conducted cloud seeding trials over parts of the national capital in a bid to ease severe air pollution.
The initiative, however, faced criticism from the Opposition Congress, which called it a “cruel joke”, arguing that a “slight improvement in a limited area for a day or two” did not justify the effort.
Ravichandran maintained that the objective was to gather data and improve understanding before any operational or semi-operational implementation of cloud seeding in India.
“Before going operational or semi-operational, as far as cloud seeding is concerned, there is a need to understand more about it,” he noted.
When asked if a formal policy should precede such trials, he said that new technologies inevitably involve experimentation and learning.
“When somebody comes up with new knowledge and technology, even if it fails, it provides knowledge and information for future research work,” Ravichandran explained.
Officials said the WMO conference focused on scientific advances in weather modification, including the use of artificial intelligence and emerging technologies in the field.