Two days after its inauguration, cloud seeding took off on Wednesday, with officials claiming that seven clouds were seeded in Magadi, Nelamangala and Ramanagaram on the outskirts of the city.
In a sortie that lasted an hour, the customised plane that took off from Jakkur airfield shot 14 flares at seven clouds. The flares spray chemicals — sodium chloride, potassium chloride and silver iodide — with the aim of condensing smaller water particles into larger droplets that constitute rain.
The clouds are expected to result in rain in Nelamangala, Ramanagaram, Magadi, and Maddur, said Rural Development and Panchayat Raj (RDPR) Department officials. The pilots reportedly observed rain immediately after the spraying of chemicals.
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There was no official word, however, on the amount of rainfall received because of cloud seeding.
As weather-monitoring radars are still being calibrated in Bengaluru, the cloud seeding operation — called Project Varshadhari — is currently only proceeding based on the experience of the pilots and the contractors. Sustained cloud seeding in the Cauvery basin, where reservoir levels continue to remain low, will proceed only after a few days, said officials.