Delhi’s Environment Minister, Gopal Rai, announced on Tuesday the city’s intention to deploy artificial rain to address escalating air pollution, as respiratory illnesses rise across the capital due to poor air quality. The city is considering cloud-seeding—inducing rain by injecting clouds with salts—as a potential remedy. This approach was also discussed in 2023 but was abandoned due to adverse weather.
“I appeal to the federal environment minister…now in Delhi and north India, the pollution has reached the border of 400,” Rai remarked, referencing Tuesday’s alarming air quality index (AQI) levels, which indicated hazardous conditions for both healthy and vulnerable populations. Over a third of Delhi’s 39 monitoring stations reported an AQI above 400, far exceeding the safe range of 0-50.
The severe air quality is largely attributed to seasonal factors in North India, where cold air traps pollution from vehicles, industrial emissions, and crop-burning residues. Punjab and Haryana’s widespread agricultural fires compound the issue, enveloping Delhi in a thick haze each winter.
Medical professionals across Delhi and nearby areas report a substantial rise in respiratory cases since Diwali, when many violated a ban on firecrackers. Prashant Saxena, pulmonology head at Fortis Hospital, noted a 20-30% spike in pollution-induced cases like asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Similarly, Kuldeep Kumar from C K Birla Hospital in Gurugram reported over 50 daily cases related to air quality issues, with some requiring hospitalization.
Delhi ranks as the world’s second most polluted city, trailing Lahore, Pakistan, according to Swiss air quality technology firm IQAir. Authorities in Punjab, Pakistan, have also attributed their air quality issues to pollution drifting from India, which they plan to address diplomatically.
The worsening air pollution across South Asia, as per the University of Chicago’s Air Quality Life Index, has the potential to reduce life expectancy by over five years, underscoring the urgent need for effective pollution control measures.
