Lahore considers artificial rainfall to overcome smog

LAHORE: The local administration has suggested a novel proposal to overcome the smog in the city, i.e. artificial rainfall, citing sources ARY News reported on Saturday.

According to reports, the Commissioner Lahore has sent a summary to the government for artificial rainfall in the polluted city to scale down the level of lethal smog.

The summary said that around 350 million rupees are required for the artificial rainfall in the historic city, which is cultural capital of Pakistan.

It is to mention here that artificial rain is produced by spraying clouds with substances like Silver Iodide or cheaper available options like solid carbon dioxide (dry ice) or even finely powdered Sodium Chloride. In a situation where there are clouds in the sky but no rain, it is a phenomenon called super-cooling.

According to reports, the meteorological department had successfully experimented the process in year 2001.

The experiment was also repeated to bring artificial rain in the catchment area of Hub Dam.

The authorities in Karachi were also considering the option of ‘cloud seeding’ to scale down effects of lethal heatwave in the metropolis after the scorching heat claimed around 1500 lives in the city.

Karachi authorities in those days hinted at using artificial rain in Karachi, in which a chemical will be sprinkled on clouds via airplanes, to seed the clouds for rainfall.

Director General of Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) at that time, Dr Ghulam Rasul was quoted as saying that “Most favourable weather for artificial rain is monsoon season. Success rate of such rains are higher than the procedures done during the non-monsoon days. Monsoon in Pakistan falls from July to September.”

The proposal however was left unimplemented mostly due to huge spending on the process.