Overview
- Two trials on October 28 over Burari, Karol Bagh and Mayur Vihar yielded no rain in Delhi, with only light drizzle reported in Noida and Greater Noida.
- IIT-Kanpur and Delhi’s environment minister cited 6–10% drops in PM2.5 and PM10, but independent CPCB/DPCC analyses found improvements began before seeding and were short-lived, with Delhi’s AQI sliding to very poor and severe levels afterward.
- India Today’s OSINT tracking showed two sorties targeting northern Delhi where clouds were most frequent, with verified routes from Kanpur and Meerut and intermittent signal gaps during operations.
- Costs disclosed include roughly Rs 60 lakh for the two October 28 sorties over about 300 sq km, a Delhi allocation of around Rs 3.21 crore for multiple trials, and an estimated Rs 25–30 crore for a full winter season, with three trials conducted so far.
- Political criticism escalated as AAP labeled the exercise a publicity stunt and the Delhi Pradesh Youth Congress filed a ‘rain theft’ complaint that police declined to register, while IIT-Kanpur defended the effort as a low-risk SOS tool now paused for lack of moisture.