Chief Minister Punjab Mohsin Naqvi’s persistent efforts yielded success as, for the first time in the country’s history, artificial rain was successfully tested in Lahore.
Chief Minister Mohsin Naqvi, in an emergency press conference at the Chief Minister’s Office today, announced the historic achievement, stating that after 15 days of continuous efforts, the first artificial rain event has taken place in Pakistan.
In the initial mission, 48 flares were deployed for cloud seeding in the morning, followed by a second artificial rainfall mission. The precipitation occurred around Shahdara and Muridke areas, benefiting from the necessary cloud cover and wind. Chief Minister Mohsin Naqvi expressed gratitude that the artificial rain endeavor incurred no financial cost.
Acknowledging the cooperation of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Chief Minister Mohsin Naqvi thanked the UAE team, which had been in Pakistan for the past 15 days to facilitate artificial rain. He highlighted that Lahore, once ranked as the most polluted city globally by Airindex, faced significant challenges in experimenting with artificial rain, and he appreciated the support of UAE President.
Chief Minister Mohsin Naqvi extended gratitude to the federal government and institutions for their unwavering support. Both WASA and LWMC are on high alert, awaiting the results of the second artificial rainfall mission, which will be evident by the next night.
The artificial rain experiment was a joint effort between the Department of Environment and the UAE team. Chief Minister Mohsin Naqvi disclosed that the federal government is actively working on artificial rain technology, expressing optimism about more successes in the near future.
Artificial rainfall is a regular practice in the UAE, and the successful implementation on a 15 km stretch in Lahore was a gift from the UAE. The Punjab government provided complete technical support, and Chief Minister Mohsin Naqvi conveyed thanks on behalf of the Punjab Government to the UAE.
Emphasizing the importance of artificial rain experiments for future smog control, Chief Minister Mohsin Naqvi also announced plans to install towers for smog control soon. He highlighted that comprehensive long-term and short-term policies are being pursued to address smog-related challenges.
The Chief Minister expressed hope that artificial rain would contribute to improving the air quality index, and the expertise gained would be shared with other provinces. Responding to a question, Chief Minister Mohsin Naqvi emphasized the importance of saving lives over monetary concerns and clarified that the Punjab government did not spend anything except for sprinkling water in this endeavor.
Regarding the concerns about health effects, he stated that if artificial rain were harmful, no country would practice it. Chief Minister Mohsin Naqvi stressed the need for comprehensive research on smog prevention and expressed confidence that the next government would make informed decisions based on good research.
Introducing an electric bike and vehicle policy, Chief Minister Mohsin Naqvi shared his personal opinion that the sale of fuel vehicles should be phased out in favor of electric vehicles. Provincial Minister Amir Mir, Commissioner, CCPO, DGPR, and other officials were present during the press conference.
