e quality is constantly dwindling due to stubble burning in the neighbouring states of Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh. Photo Credit: ANI e quality is constantly dwindling due to stubble burning in the neighbouring states of Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh.

New Delhi: After the air quality has been constantly degrading in the national capital, the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) might opt for using artificial rain in Delhi to tackle air pollution after Diwali. According to news agency PTI, a senior CPCB official said they are in talks with the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kanpur and the India Meteorological Department (IMD) for inducing artificial rain after Diwali when the pollution is expected to reach "severe-plus emergency" stage.

The official further added that they are also waiting for meteorological conditions to become stable and then use cloud seeding for inducing artificial rain in order to wash away the hazardous elements in the air. Cloud seeding is the process of combining different kinds of chemical agents including silver iodide, dry ice and even common table salt with existing clouds in an effort to increase the chance of rain or snowfall.

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Reportedly, an IIT Kanpur professor told the agency that the weather conditions are being monitored for creating artificial rain. However, the plan of cloud seeding was tried in 2016 as well but it never worked out. Although, last year, the state government had proposed to Union Minister Harsh Vardhan the possibility of reducing dust by watering Delhi from a helicopter.

Delhi's air quality has again deteriorated to alarming levels in the past three weeks. The quality is constantly dwindling due to stubble burning in the neighbouring states of Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh, followed by heavy vehicular emission and construction activities in Delhi-NCR.

