New Delhi: Amid the political row, the Indian Institute of Technology-Kanpur announced that the cloud-seeding trial scheduled for Wednesday has been postponed due to inadequate moisture in the clouds.

The Delhi government, in collaboration with IIT-Kanpur, conducted two cloud-seeding trials on Tuesday. However, no rainfall occurred in the city, prompting criticism from opposition parties.

Minimal rainfall was recorded in Noida and Greater Noida after the trials.

The trials were conducted in parts of Delhi, including Burari, north Karol Bagh, Mayur Vihar, and Badli.

In the statement, IIT explained that the process is highly dependent on the right atmospheric conditions. Furthermore, it noted that while rainfall could not be triggered on Tuesday as moisture levels were around 15 to 20 per cent, the trial delivered valuable insights.

"Monitoring stations set up across Delhi captured real-time changes in particulate matter and moisture levels. The data shows a measurable reduction of 6 to 10 per cent in PM2.5 and PM10 concentrations, indicating that even under limited moisture conditions, cloud seeding can contribute to improved air quality," it said.

Asserting that the observations strengthen planning for future operations, the Institute said that such learnings form the foundation for more effective deployments ahead.

The cloud seeding trials conducted in Delhi on Tuesday helped in the reduction of particulate matter at locations where the exercise was carried out, even as conditions were not ideal for it, an official 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. Similarly, PM10 was 207, 206 and 209, which got reduced to 177, 163 and 177 at Mayur Vihar, Karol Bagh and Burari, respectively," said the report.

After conducting the trials on Tuesday, the Delhi government, later in the evening, in a report said that the cloud-seeding trials helped in the reduction of particulate matter at locations where the exercise was carried out, even as conditions were not ideal for it. PTI