The Indian Institute of Technology-Kanpur (IIT-K) has conducted a successful test for artificial rain via cloud-seeding over a limited area on its sprawling campus. Cloud seeding is the process of combining different types of chemical agents, including silver iodide, dry ice, and table salt, in clouds to thicken them and increase the chances of rainfall. The Uttar Pradesh government had turned to the premier institute for this technology to help the state’s parched Bundelkhand region with artificial rains. It took IIT-Kanpur six years to create artificial rain, after the government reached out to help Bundelkhand with artificial rains in 2017. The experiment was conducted after a nod from the civil aviation regulator DGCA.
A plane flew to a height of 5,000 feet from the institute’s airstrip and fired powder spray amid thick clouds, resulting in heavy rain. Manindra Agrawal, Professor, Department of Computer Science and Engineering, IIT Kanpur, spearheaded this artificial rain project. He said: Our capabilities in this direction have been successfully tested.
Bundelkhand region has a vast cultivation area, but the agricultural production is determined by the availability of water. Bundelkhand has four rivers, including Dhasan, Tons, Betwa, and Ken, but they are of little use for irrigation purpose. The region gets scanty rainfall due to which most of the water bodies such as ponds dry up and remain so most of the year.
Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath had envisaged the plan for artificial rain in Bundelkhand as the technology was not only low on cost but also effective. After China’s refusal for the project, IIT-Kanpur scientists had given a detailed presentation to the government on June 26, 2017, to help with pollution and drought-like conditions.
The cost of cloud seeding is high. The rent of the plane fitted with equipment is high, and implanting instruments in the aircraft is also an expensive affair. Roughly ₹2 to ₹5 lakh is spent for an hour of the exercise.
Artificial rain was created in Maharashtra, Karnataka, and Andhra Pradesh, but the success rate of the project isn’t yet known. Israel, South Africa, and the United States have successfully implemented the project.
The rains created artificially do not have any adverse impact on the environment. The solutions used for cloud seeding are not harmful, say experts.
