Gurugram Explores Artificial Rain to Curb Pollution, but Experts Warn of Failure

As of October 23rd, 2025, the air quality in Gurugram has reached the 'poor' range, with the city's Air Quality Index (AQI) standing at 281. In response, the district administration is reportedly considering cloud seeding or artificial rain as a temporary measure to reduce pollution levels.

According to the Municipal Corporation of Gurugram (MCG) commissioner, discussions are underway to explore the possibility of conducting artificial rainfall to lower dust and emissions across the city. However, experts have expressed skepticism about the plan's feasibility, citing unfavorable weather conditions and low success rates of past cloud seeding experiments in India.

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has predicted dry weather through the end of the week, with winds between 7 and 10 kmph and relative humidity below 80%, well under the optimal threshold for cloud seeding. "Such conditions are not suitable for the formation of sufficient moisture-bearing clouds," an IMD official said.

While the MCG acknowledges that the discussion is still in its early stages, environmental experts and meteorologists have warned that without sufficient cloud cover and moisture, the operation could fail entirely. Some have even called cloud seeding a "money spinner," advising the authorities to instead invest in scientifically proven interventions.

In the meantime, several residential societies in Gurugram have initiated their own measures to tackle pollution. These include deploying high-rise sprinklers connected to fire pipelines, mimicking artificial rainfall, and using fire pipelines and sprinklers to suppress dust from ongoing internal roadwork. A senior DLF official also confirmed that the company is exploring artificial rain systems at the condominium level.