According to data from the Central Pollution Control Board’s (CPCB) Sameer app, Delhi’s air quality improved marginally on Friday, with an Air Quality Index (AQI) of 288 at 6 am, down from 373 the day before. Notably, due to the lack of moisture in the clouds, the cloud seeding trials in the nation’s capital have been halted. They will resume in the next few days.
The monitoring stations at Anand Vihar and Bawana reported an AQI of 305 and 363, respectively, which fall into the “very poor” category of air quality, according to data from the app. In the meantime, “poor” air quality was noted at a few other monitoring stations, including Chandni Chowk (203) and Burari Crossing (275). A score of 0 to 50 is regarded as “good,” 51 to 100 as “satisfactory,” 101 to 200 as “moderate,” 201 to 300 as “poor,” 301 to 400 as “very poor,” and 401 to 500 as “severe.”
Due to heavy haze and mist that engulfed the city and reduced visibility throughout the region, the national capital’s air quality on Thursday became “severe,” with an AQI score of 373. Early in the morning, fog covered a number of locations, including Akshardham, Anand Vihar, Burari, and Kartavya Path.
The Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur announced on Wednesday that “insufficient moisture in the clouds” has forced the postponement of the upcoming cloud seeding trials. Notably, Tuesday’s cloud seeding efforts in the nation’s capital did not provide the expected outcomes.
When the moisture level rises much over the current value of 10 to 15 percent, the next attempts at cloud seeding will take place, according to Delhi Environment Minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa. The IMD estimates that 10 to 15 percent moisture is still present. Our study was carried out yesterday at a moisture content of 10 to 15 percent; the next trial will take place when the moisture content is higher.
As per IMD, the moisture is predicted to increase further after 4 pm. The second trial would start right away as the moisture data is received,” he told ANI on Wednesday. In the meantime, the national capital’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led government came under fire from the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), which claimed that the government had failed.
In response to a media article asking whether the cloud seeding effort had failed, AAP convener and former Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal tweeted on X, “In actuality, all the engines of this government have failed.” This government has failed miserably.