If the process proves successful, artificial rain will be carried out for several days to ensure the Ramgarh Dam gets fully recharged. All related data will be recorded and studied over a month.Artificial rain is a scientific process used to alter weather conditions. Traditionally, aircraft are flown into the clouds and substances like silver iodide, sodium chloride, dry ice, and other particles are released. These substances facilitate the condensation and freezing of water droplets, which then fall as rain.However, such methods require adequate cloud cover and atmospheric moisture to be successful. If successful, Jaipur’s Ramgarh experiment could set a new benchmark in climate intervention using modern drone and AI technologies.Ramgarh Dam, located near Jaipur, is a historic structure built by Maharaja Sawai Madho Singh in 1903. Once considered the lifeline of Jaipur, the dam supplied drinking water to the city from 1931 until the 1980s.With a total storage capacity of 75 million cubic meters, at its peak, the dam held so much water that it even hosted a boating competition during the 1982 Asian Games.However, over the years, the dam’s catchment area and inflow channels became choked due to illegal constructions and encroachments.Since 2005, the reservoir has remained completely dry, marking the beginning of a long and continuing drought for this once-thriving water body. Not India’s first tryst with cloud seeding.Although the use of drones is new, cloud seeding itself isn’t a novel concept in India. The country’s first cloud seeding was carried out in 1951 by Tata Chemicals over the Western Ghats in Kerala.Over the years, states like Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, and Delhi have also resorted to cloud seeding — mostly through aircraft — to tackle drought, smog, or declining air quality.
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