export_ofoct.com

[00:00.45] Indian scientists plan to add substances to clouds above the capital New Delhi in an effort to produce rain to reduce pollution.

[00:13.85] The method to artificially produce rain is called cloud seeding.

[00:20.81] The process involves adding different chemicals to clouds to cause rain.

[00:28.03] When rain falls from the sky, water droplets can attach to pollution particles and bring them down to the ground.

[00:38.72] New Delhi has been rated the city with the most air pollution in the world.

[00:45.68] Reports say the problem has worsened across the city in recent weeks.

[00:52.65] Air quality decreases in the city ahead of winter each year.

[00:59.08] During this time, cold air can trap many pollutants, including gases from vehicles, industry, building projects and agricultural burning.

[01:13.54] Scientists expect some clouds over the city around November 20.

[01:21.04] They hope the clouds will result in heavy rainfall – when sprayed with a salt mixture.

[01:28.81] The project is being led by Manindra Agrawal, a scientist at the Indian Institute of Technology in the central city of Kanpur.

[01:42.19] He told Reuters news agency the salt mixture will include silver iodine to help produce rain.

[01:52.64] It is to be sprayed on clouds over a 100 square kilometer area.

[01:59.31] Agrawal said the project will cost about $120,000.

[02:06.53] The local government in New Delhi, a city of 20 million people, has already closed schools, stopped building activities, and said it will place restrictions on vehicle use to control pollution.

[02:24.72] The air quality index in the city was 506 on November 9.

[02:32.22] This level is considered "hazardous" by IQAir, a Swiss company that describes itself as an “air quality solutions” business.

[02:45.32] Gufran Beig is head of the Indian government's air-quality measuring agency SAFAR.

[02:54.42] He told Reuters the city needs heavy and widespread rain to wash away the pollutants.

[03:02.97] Beig added that light rain could worsen the situation.

[03:08.29] The SAFAR head said current airflow is carrying smoke from crop burning in the states of Punjab and Haryana to Delhi.

[03:20.06] This smoke adds to the city’s existing pollution sources. "So, unless a huge pressure is established by intense rain, this chain of transport from Punjab to Delhi will not be broken,” Beig said.

[03:39.85] About 38 percent of pollution in the capital has been caused by stubble burning in Punjab and Haryana, a recent government statement said. Farmers carry out stubble burning to clear material left behind from rice harvests so they can plant other crops.

[04:08.43] Indian officials directed leaders in both states to "take effective actions" to identify and limit stubble burning, the statement added.

[04:17.53] Officials in New Delhi are seeking approval for the project from the Supreme Court, Reuters reported.

[04:26.87] Several countries have used cloud seeding in an effort to produce rain, improve air quality and water crops in times of extreme dryness.

[04:39.94] These include Mexico, the United States, China, Indonesia and Malaysia.