Jakarta (ANTARA) - The eruption of Mount Anak Krakatau in the Sunda\nStrait has spread volcanic ash across a number of regions, including\nJakarta, Banten and Lampung. The situation has also disrupted aviation,\nas volcanic ash can endanger aircraft safety, and has affected the\nactivities of residents in surrounding areas due to ash fall that poses\nhealth risks in affected areas.<\/p>\n
To help reduce the spread of ash in the atmosphere, the National\nDisaster Management Agency (BNPB) has prepared a Weather Modification\nOperation (OMC). BNPB Chief Suharyanto said the OMC will be carried out\nwhen weather conditions and flight safety permit. Aircraft for the\noperation have also been prepared at Pondok Cabe.<\/p>\n
In its implementation, the OMC is intended to help bring volcanic ash\nmaterial down from the atmosphere through the formation or seeding of\nrain. But how does weather modification actually work? Can humans truly\nmake rain fall at will?<\/p>\n
Weather modification is an effort to influence processes occurring in\nthe atmosphere by making use of existing cloud conditions. In Indonesia,\nthis activity is known as Operasi Modifikasi Cuaca, or OMC.<\/p>\n
Put simply, the OMC does not mean humans can create rain from a\ncompletely clear sky. The technique is mostly carried out by utilising\nclouds that have the potential to produce rain.<\/p>\n
Certain materials are scattered into clouds to assist the process of\nforming or growing water droplets, so that the chance of rain can\nincrease.<\/p>\n
Therefore, the presence of clouds and atmospheric conditions are\nimportant factors. If weather conditions are unfavourable, weather\nmodification cannot automatically produce rain.<\/p>\n
How is rain made to fall?<\/p>\n
One method commonly used in the OMC is cloud seeding.<\/p>\n
In this process, aircraft carry particular seeding materials towards\nareas with potentially rain-bearing clouds. These materials are then\nscattered into the clouds to assist condensation and the formation of\nwater droplets.<\/p>\n
The increasingly large water droplets can then fall to the surface as\nrain when atmospheric conditions support it.<\/p>\n
So it is not the aircraft that directly \u201cmakes\u201d rain. The aircraft\nacts as a means of delivering seeding materials to cloud locations that\nalready meet the criteria.<\/p>\n
The answer is no.<\/p>\n
The OMC depends heavily on atmospheric conditions. The implementing\nteam needs to examine various meteorological information, including the\npresence of clouds, wind direction, humidity and other atmospheric\nconditions.<\/p>\n
The Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) has also\naffirmed that the OMC is a mitigation technology whose implementation\nmust adapt to weather conditions. In previous operations, for instance,\nthe OMC could not be carried out when the required convective clouds had\nnot yet formed.<\/p>\n
For this reason, there are times when the government has prepared\naircraft and personnel, but the operation cannot yet be carried out\nbecause atmospheric conditions are unfavourable.<\/p>\n
In the case of the Mount Anak Krakatau eruption, the OMC has been\nprepared to help dissipate the volcanic ash still present in the\natmosphere.<\/p>\n
Rain falling over targeted areas is expected to help bring ash\nparticles down to the surface, so that the concentration of volcanic\nmaterial in the air can be reduced.<\/p>\n
This step forms part of post-eruption mitigation efforts,\nparticularly as the ash fall has affected a number of regions and\naviation activities. BNPB said the OMC will be carried out while\ncontinuing to observe flight safety and security factors.<\/p>\n
Beyond volcanic ash, what else is the OMC used for?<\/p>\n
Weather modification has in fact been used in various situations in\nIndonesia. One of these is supporting the handling of forest and land\nfires (karhutla).<\/p>\n
When there are clouds with the potential to produce rain, the OMC can\nbe carried out to increase the chance of rainfall in areas that need it.\nSuch rain is expected to help moisten the land and reduce the dry\nconditions that support the spread of fire.<\/p>\n
In September 2026, BMKG also reported the implementation of the OMC\nin West Kalimantan to optimise rain potential as part of efforts to\nhandle forest and land fires.<\/p>\n
In addition, the OMC can be used in the management of certain\nhydrometeorological disasters, such as reducing the potential for rain\nin particular regions when atmospheric conditions allow and the\noperational objective supports it.<\/p>\n
Not always.<\/p>\n
Weather modification is not a technology that can fully control the\nweather. Its results depend heavily on atmospheric conditions at the\ntime of the operation.<\/p>\n
This means that when suitable clouds are unavailable or atmospheric\nconditions are unfavourable, seeding will not automatically produce\nrain.<\/p>\n
BMKG has also emphasised that the OMC forms part of disaster\nmitigation efforts and is not a means of controlling the weather at\nwill.<\/p>\n
For this reason, the success of an operation is usually assessed\nbased on conditions and the objectives to be achieved, not simply on\nwhether rain falls or not.<\/p>\n
So, can humans control the weather?<\/p>\n
Not to that extent.<\/p>\n
Weather modification technology essentially works by harnessing\nnatural processes already under way in the atmosphere. Humans can make\ncertain interventions to assist those processes, but they cannot dictate\nthe weather as they please.<\/p>\n
In the case of the Mount Anak Krakatau eruption, for example, the\ngovernment prepared the OMC as one step to help bring volcanic ash down\nfrom the atmosphere. However, its implementation still awaits safe and\nsuitable conditions.<\/p>\n
In other words, weather modification is not a \u201crain-making machine\u201d,\nbut rather a technology that attempts to optimise the atmospheric\nconditions already available.<\/p>\n
The development of this technology shows that weather information,\natmospheric observation and meteorological modelling are increasingly\nimportant in disaster management. Amid threats such as volcanic\neruptions and forest fires, the OMC serves as one of the tools the\ngovernment can use to reduce disaster impacts, while still depending on\nthe natural conditions at hand.<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/how-weather-modification-works-can-it-really-make-it-rain-1788828780", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }