The Delhi government is going to hire three mist spray drones to combat dust pollution in hotspot areas as well as gather real-time data on major pollutants. These drones would be deployed across 13 identified pollution hotspots to spray water and improve air quality, according to officials of Delhi government.

This will help in settling dust particles, reducing particulate matter (PM) concentrations and mitigating the adverse effects of air pollution on public health and the environment, officials said.

"The process for hiring a vendor to operate the three drones has begun as a 15-day trial in hotspots areas," said an environment department officer of the Delhi government.

The drones would be equipped with a minimum 17-litre tank and would be capable of covering one acre within 15 minutes. Also, these will integrate real-time air quality monitoring systems and high-resolution cameras for accurate data collection and reporting, officials said.

The Environment department may provide access to CORS -- a network of reference stations that provide high-precision geospatial data crucial for accurate mapping, surveying, and various applications that require precise geographical positioning -- and assistance of the Survey of India for the actual area covered by the drones during the pilot study, they said.

The drones will follow pre-programmed routes to ensure comprehensive coverage for mist spray in most polluted areas as well as real-time monitoring -- integration with environmental sensors to measure air quality and sending it to a central system, officials said.

The air quality monitoring system mounted on the drones will be capable of measuring temperature, humidity, pressure, ozone, nitrous oxide, carbon monoxide, sulphur dioxide, PM10 and PM2.5 among other parameters.

The real-time air quality data and images collected by the drone will be transmitted online to the Environment Department, Government of the National Capital Territory of Delhi (GNCTD), Air Lab of Delhi Pollution Control Committee and the Green War Room for evaluation. Although the pilot study is planned for 15 days, the period and the number of drones can be extended if the trial is satisfactory, officials added.