As air pollution continues to rise in the aftermath of Diwali, Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta on Friday described cloud seeding as a “necessity” for the national capital. Her remarks follow Thursday’s announcement of plans to induce artificial rain in Delhi to tackle worsening air quality.

“Cloud seeding is a necessity for Delhi and is the first experiment of its kind. We want to try it in Delhi to see if it can help control this serious environmental problem,” Gupta said. She added that public support would be crucial to make the experiment successful and expressed hope that such initiatives could help address environmental challenges in the long term.

Following a test in the Burari area, the Chief Minister said that if weather conditions remain favourable, Delhi may experience its first artificial rain next week.

In a post on X, Gupta wrote, “Preparations have been completed for the first time in Delhi to induce artificial rain through cloud seeding.”

She added that the India Meteorological Department had forecast cloud presence on October 28, 29, and 30, and if conditions permit, the city would see artificial rainfall on October 29. Gupta emphasised that this innovation would provide a scientific approach to combating pollution, aiming to make the capital’s air cleaner and the environment more balanced.

On Friday morning, air quality in Delhi and neighbouring areas remained poor, with several localities classified in the “very poor” category. The Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) Stage II has already been enforced to address rising pollution.

According to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), Delhi’s overall Air Quality Index (AQI) stood at 292 at 8 am on Friday. Pollution levels had peaked after Diwali, reaching 335 at 9 am on Wednesday, keeping most areas in the red zone with AQI readings above 300.

The CPCB classifies AQI ranges as:

0–50: Good

51–100: Satisfactory

101–200: Moderate

201–300: Poor

301–400: Very poor

401–500: Severe

The pollution spike came despite Delhi celebrating its first “green Diwali” in years. Ahead of the festival, the Supreme Court had allowed the use of green crackers in the Delhi-NCR region between October 18 and 20, limited to two time slots — 6 am to 7 am and 8 pm to 10 pm.

However, widespread violations were reported, with firecrackers being used outside the permitted hours. Following this, the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) confirmed that Stage II of GRAP had been activated, which includes stricter measures such as limiting construction work and curbing vehicular movement to control emissions.