Punjab to spend Rs350 million on artificial rain in Lahore

Authorities have announced plans to utilize artificial rain to tackle the escalating smog crisis in Lahore.

In light of worsening air pollution, preparations for this initiative are already in progress.

Officials are also considering temporarily closing schools to protect children from the deteriorating air quality.

According to sources from the Ministry of Finance, the estimated cost of implementing artificial rain in Lahore is expected to be around Rs350 million.

The Meteorological Department, in collaboration with the Environment Department, is taking a central role in both smog control efforts and the artificial rain project.

In December last year, artificial rain was used for the first time in Pakistan in a bid to combat hazardous levels of smog in the megacity of Lahore, the provincial government said.

In the first experiment of its kind in the South Asian country, planes equipped with cloud seeding equipment flew over 10 areas of the city, often ranked one of the worst places globally for air pollution.

The “gift” was provided by the United Arab Emirates, said caretaker chief minister of Punjab, Mohsin Naqvi.

“Teams from the UAE, along with two planes, arrived here about 10 to 12 days ago. They used 48 flares to create the rain,” he told the media.

He said the team would know by Saturday night what effect the “artificial rain” had.

The UAE has increasingly used cloud seeding, sometimes referred to as artificial rain or “blueskying,” to create rain in the arid expanse of the country.