Delhi’s fight against toxic air has led the government to try out an expensive and daring experiment: cloud seeding! But how much does this watery gamble really cost? And why is it so expensive? Let’s break it down.
Cloud seeding is a method of spreading silver iodide or other chemicals that mimic ice crystals, into clouds to encourage rain. The idea is to wash away the thick smog choking Delhi's air by forcing rain. It’s a temporary fix, an expensive hope, while real pollution controls take time to show results.
Due to the deteriorating air quality in Delhi during the winter, the government gave the green light to several trials of cloud seeding in the hopes of getting showers to fall from the sky.
So how much is this weather manipulation costing? Official numbers suggest that Delhi has budgeted around Rs 3.2 crore for the first experiments of cloud seeding. These experiments had five sorties, the technical term for aerial operations that plant rain-inducing elements in clouds.
Each sortie, as per the experts and latest reports, is around 60 lakh rupees. The amount that is used is for the fuel of the aircraft, the maintenance of it, the pilot's wages and, on top of it, the silver iodide that is used to induce the rain by the clouds. ll.
At this point, Rs 3.2 crore is only an early phase. The whole winter campaign is estimated to cost almost ₹25 crore in the city. This is not only a hefty bill but also a bill from the sky to catch the rain.
Cloud seeding is a technical and labor-intensive operation, and it requires special equipment. The planes needed for this task would have to fly for quite a distance from their base stations. Pilots and ground crew would have to work together with weather officials to find the right time to do it, and that time is rarely available.
In addition, the chemical agents used for the purpose are expensive, and for good results, repeated flights are necessary. This is what the expensive price tag is all about.
The experts say that besides the numbers, there is also the issue of operational complexity and the rare occurrence of proper conditions.
Experts, however, caution that cloud seeding isn't the answer just yet; they do agree that it's hardly the silver bullet one might imagine. The director of IIT Kanpur, for instance, states that it's just a temporary solution and cannot substitute the pressing necessity of source pollution control, e.g, vehicular traffic, industrial emissions, and crop burning.
To sum it up, artificial rain experiments in Delhi are expensive and difficult. While it is a pricey splash, only time can tell if the downpour is worth the expense. The city still requires more robust and prolonged pollution control measures for the coming of clean skies.
