New Delhi: The Delhi government will attempt to induce artificial rain through cloud seeding this month in an effort to combat air pollution in the national capital, Environment Minister Gopal Rai said on Wednesday (November 8). The minister said he held a meeting with scientists from IIT Kanpur who told him that cloud seeding could only be attempted if there were clouds or moisture in the atmosphere. He added,
Experts anticipate that such conditions could develop around November 20-21. We have asked the scientists to prepare a proposal in this regard which will be submitted to the Supreme Court.
Mrutyunjay Mohapatra, Director General of the India Meteorological Department, told PTI that research is being conducted globally on artificial rain. He stated,
There have been a few attempts in India… in Telangana, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka. Globally, research is being conducted on artificial rain, which requires the basic requirement of clouds or moisture. Only under these conditions can it occur. Certain nuclei are sprinkled into the clouds to facilitate cloud condensation, leading to rainfall. In India, research on artificial rain is ongoing, but it has not made significant progress so far.
The environment minister has also called a meeting with all ministers on November 9, to discuss the air pollution problem gripping the national capital for more than two weeks now.
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NDTV – Dettol have been working towards a clean and healthy India since 2014 via the Banega Swachh India initiative, which in its Season 10 is helmed by Campaign Ambassador Ayushmann Khurrana. The campaign aims to highlight the inter-dependency of humans and the environment, and of humans on one another with the focus on One Health, One Planet, One Future – Leaving No One Behind. It stresses on the need to take care of, and consider, everyone’s health in India – especially vulnerable communities – the LGBTQ population, indigenous people, India’s different tribes, ethnic and linguistic minorities, people with disabilities, migrants, geographically remote populations, gender and sexual minorities. In a world post COVID-19 pandemic, the need for WASH (Water, Sanitation and Hygiene) is reaffirmed as handwashing is one of the ways to prevent Coronavirus infection and other diseases. The campaign will continue to raise awareness on the same along with focussing on the importance of nutrition and healthcare for women and children, fight malnutrition, mental well-being, self-care, science and health, adolescent health & gender awareness. Along with the health of people, the campaign has realised the need to also take care of the health of the eco-system. Our environment is fragile due to human activity, which is not only over-exploiting available resources, but also generating immense pollution as a result of using and extracting those resources. The imbalance has also led to immense biodiversity loss that has caused one of the biggest threats to human survival – climate change. It has now been described as a “code red for humanity.” The campaign will continue to cover issues like air pollution, waste management, plastic ban, manual scavenging and sanitation workers and menstrual hygiene. Banega Swasth India will also be taking forward the dream of Swasth Bharat, the campaign feels that only a Swachh or clean India where toilets are used and open defecation free (ODF) status achieved as part of the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2014, can eradicate diseases like diahorrea and the country can become a Swasth or healthy India.
