Cloud seeding to cut air pollution in Delhi

德里空中播撒以减少空气污染

Health Check

2025-11-06

26 分钟
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Last week attempts at cloud seeding to reduce pollution in Delhi failed to produce any rain. We catch up with reporter Chhavi Sachdev to find out more about official’s latest and controversial attempt at tacking hazardous levels of air pollution in the city. The Maldives have become the first country to ban smoking for younger generations with no one born on or after 1 January 2007 being able to buy tobacco products. Journalist Philippa Roxby comments on what this means for health. What do the public know about the cancer risks of alcohol? Dr Sanjay Shete, Professor of Biostatistics and Epidemiology at the University of Texas, explains his research comparing the real risks to public awareness. A Finnish study has found that voting behaviours in elections are strongly linked to health, suggesting it may even be a stronger determinant than education. Plus, how walking over 5,000 steps a day may slow the cognitive decline in those with preclinical Alzheimer’s disease. Presenter: Claudia Hammond Producer: Katie Tomsett & Hannah Robins Image: A commuter walks near India Gate amid heavy smog pollution on October 29, 2025 in New Delhi, India. Delhi is once again blanketed by hazardous smog following the Diwali festival, as pollution levels spike to the "very poor" and "severe" categories, with air quality indexes far exceeding safe limits. The crisis, which is driven by firecracker use, emissions, and seasonal crop residue burning has prompted emergency measures like cloud seeding. Image Credit: Ritesh Shukla/Getty Images
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  • Hello, I'm Claudia Hammond and this is Health Check from the BBC.

  • Today, the Maldives becomes the first country to ban smoking for future generations.

  • And why the air pollution in the Indian city of Delhi has got so bad that the authorities have been releasing chemicals into the sky in the hope of making it rain to reduce the pollution.

  • And to help me today, I have BBC health reporter, Philippa Roxby.

  • How are you?

  • Very well.

  • Hi.

  • And what do you have for us today?

  • We're going to be talking about voting and thinking about voting participation in a way that might impact your health.

  • That's extraordinary.

  • And did you know that alcohol could increase your risk of seven types of cancer?

  • Before all that, to the Maldives,

  • the first country in the world to ban smoking for younger generations.

  • The country's health ministry calls this an historic milestone in the nation's efforts to protect public health and promote a tobacco-free generation.

  • So, Philippa, how does this work?

  • Is this a gradual ban, in a way, isn't it?

  • Yeah, that's right.

  • It's gradual, so it's going to affect anyone born after the start of 2007.

  • And gradually as the years pass, it will encompass more people.

  • So at the moment it encompasses anybody 18 and under in 10 years,