India conducts cloud-seeding trial to clear New Delhi’s smog

People exercise near the India Gate monument amidst morning smog a day after Diwali festival in New Delhi last week (Manish Swarup/AP)

Indian authorities have carried out a cloud-seeding experiment over smog-choked New Delhi in an attempt to induce rainfall and clear the city’s toxic air, which has sparked anger among residents.

A plane sprayed chemicals into clouds over some areas of the Indian capital to encourage rain and wash pollutants from the air, which remained in the “very poor” category, according to air quality monitors.