Staring at drought, Maharashtra weighs artificial rain option

Shiv Kumar
Tribune News Service
Mumbai, May 25

With Maharashtra reeling under the worst ever drought since 1972, the state government has decided to take up cloud seeding ahead of the monsoon.

“We are keeping an eye on the monsoon and a decision on cloud seeding will be taken in due course,” a state government official said.

The cloud seeding programme is expected to be undertaken in Vidarbha and Marathwada regions as the rainfall here is expected to be poor this year, according to official.

As part of cloud seeding, moisture-laden clouds are sprayed with chemicals to increase condensation that then falls to the ground as rain. “Cloud seeding must be carried out during early stages of the monsoon in order to be successful,” the official said.

The process works best if carried out in July and August, according to experts. The Devendra Fadnavis government had first carried out cloud seeding in 2015 during drought. Sources say the results were mixed as the exercise was carried out in the latter half of the monsoon.

This time, the government has earmarked Rs 30 crore for the project and global companies with expertise will be invited to make their bids.

Meanwhile, the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM) is also planning to conduct an experiment to effect artificial rain in the state’s Solapur district. Rain-bearing clouds will be sprayed with salts like sodium chloride and calcium chloride using an airplane to bring about rain.

The Chinese government had also extended its help for Maharashtra’s cloud seeding programme in the past.