BMKG Prepares Cloud Seeding to Anticipate Drought in Java

Jakarta (ANTARA) - The Agency for Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysics (BMKG) is preparing weather modification operations (OMC) for early October to anticipate potential water droughts caused by a hotter and drier dry season on Java Island.

BMKG Deputy for Weather Modification, Tri Handoko Seto, stated that these operations are crucial to increasing the potential for rainfall, thereby supplying water to reservoirs that support agriculture and public livelihoods amidst the threat of drought.

“Currently, the main reservoirs in Java, such as the Saguling, Cirata, and Jatiluhur reservoirs in the Citarum basin, and those in the Brantas river in East Java, are still in a safe position. However, a deficit is likely in September-October, so we will conduct modification operations in Java in early October,” he said, following a briefing at the Indonesian Red Cross (PMI) logistics warehouse in Jakarta on Tuesday.

Seto explained that the submission of documents for the weather modification operations has been coordinated with the National Disaster Management Agency (BNPB), following the declaration of drought emergency statuses in several regions across West Java, Central Java, and East Java.

“The peak of extreme drought is predicted to occur in August and September, meaning preparedness from various humanitarian agencies, including clean water distribution from the Indonesian Red Cross (PMI), is highly needed by the community,” he added.

In addition to anticipating drought in Java’s food production centres, he confirmed that BMKG’s national weather modification operations are also being directed in parallel to maintain water volumes in Lake Toba, North Sumatra, and the Poso region, Central Sulawesi.

These intervention measures are being optimised to ensure that receding reservoirs can be refilled, while simultaneously reducing the potential for forest and land fires (karhutla) that trigger haze disasters.

“The hope is that these weather modification operations can assist the agricultural sector and support human survival, especially for our brothers and sisters in Sumatra and Kalimantan who are vulnerable to the impact of haze,” he concluded.