Experiments with weather modification tech to alter rain patterns on govt radar
The Indian government is exploring weather modification technologies like cloud seeding for rain enhancement, with a new cloud chamber set to open soon.
New Delhi: The Union government is actively considering experimentation of various weather modification technologies for rain enhancement and suppression for widespread application in a few years. To begin with, a cloud chamber will be opened soon at Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology for study and experimentation of cloud seeding, according to officials.
Some of these weather modification technologies will be presented at the 11th WMO Scientific Conference on Weather Modification to be hosted by IITM Pune between November 3 and 7. The last such conference took place in 2011. The conference will focus on weather modification, with special emphasis on scientific advances in the field. The conference will have sessions on the fundamentals of cloud physics and designing weather modification projects around the world. Major research and operational projects will be highlighted at this conference. These projects are particularly important for India because under Mission Mausam, one of the deliverables is “weather management.”
“Our goal under the Vikshit Bharat is weather management. The weather is managing us now. Can we manage weather when needed? I would say these are currently under the experimentation stage. Let’s say after five years of study, these will be ready for implementation. We are mainly looking at rain enhancement and suppression depending on the region,” said M Ravichandran, secretary, ministry of earth sciences.
The foundation stone for the cloud chamber will be laid this year. “The chamber will be 15 metre high, among the tallest. In that chamber, environmental conditions will be developed to create clouds for study,” he added. Delhi conducted a cloud seeding trial last week through Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur. This was mainly to dissipate severe particulate pollution in the Capital. But the trial did not result in rain mainly due to insufficient moisture in the clouds.
“The whole idea is to understand which clouds can be seeded and when. Suppose during monsoon, there is extreme rainfall and it is continuing, we are also trying to see how rain can be reduced at that time. Abu Dhabi has used cloud seeding a number of times, and their projects will also be showcased. China has also implemented these,” said Ravichandran.
The jury is still out on the success of these technologies. “Weather modification is the deliberate intervention in the Earth’s atmosphere to influence local weather conditions, typically through techniques like cloud seeding. This primarily involves dispersing substances into clouds to alter precipitation patterns to increase rainfall, reduce hail, or dissipate cloud cover. The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) neither promotes nor discourages the practice of weather modification. The activities of WMO with respect to weather modification are aimed at encouraging scientifically sound research projects and at guiding best practices for research and operational projects,” a WMO factsheet dated 14 June 2025 states.
The scientific status of weather modification continues to advance, yet it still reflects our limitations of the detailed understanding of cloud dynamics and microphysics and precipitation formation, WMO has said.
Additionally, there are inadequacies in accurate in-situ and remote measurement of cloud liquid and ice particles and any ensuing precipitation. To address these challenges, governments and scientific institutions should significantly enhance their efforts in basic physics and chemistry research related to weather modification. This can be achieved through a significant focused thrust on quality-controlled observations and numerical modelling as well as advancing through data science techniques.
There will be sessions on evaluation of Chinese Randomized Experiments of Rain Enhancement; Potential of Cloud Seeding to Enhance Snowfall in the Himalayas: Insights from Utah and Wyoming Programs; Marine Cloud Brightening over the Great Barrier Reef during periods of Coral Bleaching among others.
IITM has successfully conducted the Cloud Aerosol Interaction and Precipitation Enhancement Experiment (CAIPEEX) in the country to investigate rain enhancement through cloud seeding and to document/formulate the guidelines for conducting cloud seeding, IITM has said.
“Weather modification is still a grey area. Under weather modification, there are many topics such as cloud seeding or artificial rain making. There is some research on it. Some countries have claimed they have managed to do it. There is also fog dispersal, hail storm suppression, rain suppression and people are working on these subjects. But, good science is still not available on such technologies,” said M Rajeevan, former secretary, ministry of earth sciences.
