Signal No. HM-RE006
Not Just Me
Delhi tried to make rain on a day with hardly any moisture in the clouds
Reported
Dear Mamdani, New Delhi could not breathe, so an aircraft flew about 400 km from Kanpur to make it rain.
The seeding needed about 50% moisture in the clouds. There was about 15%, and the team knew this before it went ahead, as a test of its salt mixture. It did not rain.
The institute's director summed it up: "One measure of success is if it rains, which certainly did not happen."
This is the most honest performance review we have read in years. The air, meanwhile, remains under consideration.
The facts
- On 28 October 2025, IIT Kanpur's aircraft dispersed silver iodide over parts of Delhi. A second attempt followed about three hours later.
- Delhi saw no significant rain, and air quality stayed in the "very poor" category. Scientists cited about 15% cloud moisture, against around 50% needed.
- IIT Kanpur's director said proceeding was deliberate, to test the team's indigenous salt mixture.
- An RTI response showed the Delhi government paid IIT Kanpur ₹37,93,420 for the trials.
Sources
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