Pakistan used artificial rain to combat smog, a first for the country

Authorities have used cloud seeding to trigger rain to dissipate air pollution, which can cause many illnesses and continues to worsen in Pakistan.

Hope for one of the most polluted cities in the world. Artificial rain was used for the first time in Pakistan to combat smog, a fog of fine particles that is very harmful to health and which is stagnating in the megacity of Lahore, announced the provincial government of Punjab on Saturday, December 16.

To make the rain fall, the authorities resorted to the technique of cloud seeding. This process consists of introducing salt or a mixture of different salts into the clouds, the crystals promoting the condensation of water which triggers rain. Even a little rain is effective in reducing pollution, experts say.

This technique has been implemented in dozens of countries, including the United States, China and India. In this case, it was the United Arab Emirates, which is increasingly using this technique in the face of drought, which provided two planes and teams to Pakistan. “They used 48 rockets to make rain” above ten areas of the city, said the local official, adding that the team will know by Saturday evening whether the process of “artificial rain” was conclusive.

More than 66 times the dangerous threshold

Air pollution has worsened in recent years in Pakistan, notably due to low-end diesel fumes, fumes from seasonal agricultural burning and colder winter temperatures. Levels of pollutants PM2.5, carcinogenic microparticles that enter the bloodstream through the lungs, exceeded on Saturday in Lahore more than 66 times the threshold considered dangerous by the World Health Organization (WHO).

Prolonged exposure to smog promotes heart disease, lung cancer, respiratory diseases or strokes, according to the WHO. Successive governments have tried different approaches, including dousing roads with water or closing schools, factories and markets on weekends, with varying degrees of success.