Amid the choking smog in Delhi, Rai also accused the Union Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav of ‘sleeping’ over national capital’s repeated requests to convene an emergency meeting on the dire pollution situation.
The Delhi government has been under pressure to address the severe air quality crisis, with AQI levels reaching hazardous levels in recent days, especially on Monday when AQI was recorded at 493.
“We have been consulting several experts over how to remove the smog cover in Delhi. We believe that the time has come for artificial rain to remove this smog cover and provide relief to the people. I am writing a letter to the Union Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav requesting him to call an emergency meeting. The Delhi government, experts from IIT-Kanpur, who have done research on artificial rain, and all concerned departments should be called in the meeting to immediately initiate steps for artificial rain,” said Rai.
Northern India experiences severe pollution each winter as cold air traps pollutants, including vehicle emissions, dust, and smoke from agricultural fires. Cloud seeding, a method that triggers rain by introducing salts into clouds, was explored in 2023 but ultimately abandoned due to unfavorable weather. In the latest, the Resident Welfare Association (RWA) of DLF Primus Society in Sector 82, Gurugram, created “artificial rain” on November 8. Meanwhile, on Monday, the Supreme Court noted the fact that the Air Quality Index (AQI) entered into the ‘severe plus’ category and directed all Delhi-NCR states to immediately set up teams to strictly enforce anti-pollution GRAP 4 restrictions, reiterating that the curbs will stay in place till further orders.
