02 December,2023 01:06 AM IST | Mumbai | A Correspondent
Cloud seeding will be done when AQI rises to alarming levels. Representational pic
Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) is hoping to combat pollution in the city with rain induced by cloud seeding. Rain has the capacity to wash down pollutants in the air as air quality improves during the monsoon and was also seen during the unseasonal rain last week.
BMC has invited a Global Expression of Interest (EOI) for cloud seeding for a period of three years. This experiment will be done when the pollution index rises to alarming levels.
Delhi, which is under siege from pollution, which has reached hazardous levels is considering cloud seeding as a solution. Even though Delhi has yet to conduct the cloud seeding experiment, Chief Minister Eknath Shinde has instructed BMC to initiate the process in Mumbai.
The corporation has called applications for technologies for âCloud Seeding Program for Artificial Rain to Combat Air Pollution in Mumbai' for a period of three years from reputable firms/ organisations previously engaged in the work in the last three years.
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EOI copy will be available on the BMC portal from December 4 to 14 and the last date for submission of applications shall be 5 pm on December 14.
The BMC has announced various measures to tackle the air pollution that increased sharply post-monsoon. Along with curbs on pollution at construction sites which are the major source of pollution, the BMC also tried to improve air quality by washing roads, fitting air filters on BEST buses etc.
Artificial rain through cloud seeding is one of the measures suggested for air quality improvement. A civic official said that the BMC will be considering the annual turnover of the company, the cloud seeding experiments conducted by the company in the last few years and its success rate, to determine which company will get the contract.
As the BMC hasn't planned any frequency for cloud seeding, this experiment may be done when the pollution increases.
As of now BMC does not have the estimated cost as it will depend upon the technologies deployed for cloud seeding. It may be noted that there needs to be some cloud cover and moisture content to induce artificial rain using cloud seeding.
3 years
Duration of cloud seeding program
