City OKs cloud seeding project<\/p>\n
Tertiani ZB Simanjuntak, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
The city administration plans to carry out cloud seeding at the
\ncost of Rp 2.2 billion (US$258,825) starting in the middle of
\nthis month which is expected to mitigate the adverse impact of
\nthe current drought, officials said.<\/p>\n
City spokesman Muhayat said on Thursday that Governor Sutiyoso
\nhad given the green light on Wednesday to the project, which was
\nproposed by the Agency for the Assessment and Application of
\nTechnology (BPPT).<\/p>\n
The budget will be taken from the city secretary office's
\nemergency fund.<\/p>\n
Head of the City Environmental Management Agency (BPLHD),
\nKosasih Wirahadikusumah, an advisor to the governor on the
\nproject, said that it would take 20 days with an interval after
\n10 days.<\/p>\n
The project will start 10 days after the administration
\ncompletes the necessary paperwork while BPPT will use the period
\nto prepare the airplanes and materials for the cloud seeding.<\/p>\n
Kosasih quoted reports from a joint team of experts from BPPT,
\nthe National Aeronautics and Space Agency (Lapan), and the
\nMeteorology and Geophysics Agency (BMG) that the seawater failed
\nto evaporate due to the low temperature of the current seasonal
\nwinds.<\/p>\n
"The only chance to create rain in the near future is by cloud
\nseeding above Gede, Pangrango and Salak mountains, which are
\nlocated south of the city. Although there is no guarantee it will
\nsucceed, it is worth a try," he said.<\/p>\n
"Past experiences show that the management of the river basin
\nis not effective to deal with the annual drought, we're decided
\nto give this a try where we can control the intensity of
\nrainfall," he added.<\/p>\n
He argued that experts' surveys indicated that there would be
\nno clouds suitable for cloud seeding up the Citarum river until
\nOctober. The river basin provides water to Jatiluhur reservoir,
\nthe main source of tap water for Jakartans.<\/p>\n
However, as the rain would predictably fall on the southern
\npart of the city, it would not restore the shrinking water level
\nof Jatiluhur, which currently is 85 centimeters, a decrease from
\nthe normal water level of 150 centimeters, said Kosasih.<\/p>\n
"The city would still suffer from water scarcity," he added.<\/p>\n
Many parts of the city, as well as other provinces in the
\ncountry, are now being hit by the prolonged dry season expected
\nto last until the end of October. BMG predicts that North Jakarta
\nwould suffer from water shortages until the end of December.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/city-oks-cloud-seeding-project-1447893297",
"image": ""
},
"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}