IMD Chief Says Rain Is Unlikely to Ease Severe Pollution in Delhi

India Meteorological Department chief Dr Mrutyunjay Mohapatra said rain is unlikely across the plains, including Delhi, where pollution has reached severe levels. The forecast also disrupts IIT Kanpur’s cloud-seeding plan. Air quality across much of northern India remains in very poor and severe categories, with several Indo-Gangetic cities recording hazardous levels. A Western Disturbance is expected to bring rain and snowfall to Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand, with isolated rainfall possible in northern Punjab. Mohapatra said it is unlikely to deliver the widespread rain needed to clear haze over the Indo-Gangetic plains.