Context:

• To address the air pollution, the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kanpur has proposed “artificial rain” through cloud seeding to reduce pollution levels in the national capital.

Understanding Cloud Seeding: The Art of Artificial Rain for Weather Modification

• Artificial rain: Also known as cloud seeding, it is a weather modification technique used to encourage precipitation by introducing chemicals like silver iodide, potassium iodide, and dry ice into the sky using airplanes and helicopters.
• Condensation nuclei: These particles serve as nuclei around which water droplets can form leading to the development of raindrops.

• • It usually takes about half an hour for this method to make it rain.
• Objective: It serves various purposes, including reducing the impact of droughts, preventing forest fires, increasing precipitation, and enhancing air quality.

Exploring Cloud Seeding Techniques: Method of Artificial Rain 

• Hygroscopic cloud seeding: It aims to accelerate the coalescence of droplets in clouds, resulting in the formation of larger droplets that lead to precipitation. 
  • In this method, salt particles are dispersed at the cloud’s base. 
• Glaciogenic cloud seeding: It focuses on inducing ice production in supercooled clouds, leading to precipitation. 
  • It involves dispersing efficient ice nuclei, such as silver iodide particles or dry ice, into the cloud, which triggers heterogeneous ice nucleation.

Unlocking Water Resources: The Role of Cloud Seeding in Snowpack Enhancement

• Cloud seeding is used for enhancing winter snowfall and increasing mountain snowpack, supplementing the natural water supply available to communities of the surrounding area.

News Source: Economic Times