Jakarta Provincial Government Conducts Weather Modification, Artificial Rain Falls on Capital
The Jakarta Provincial Government carried out a Weather Modification Operation to induce rainfall across the capital on Wednesday (19/8/2026). The measure was taken as an effort to refresh air temperatures amid persistently hot weather conditions.
Jakarta Governor Pramono Anung confirmed that the rain falling over several parts of Jakarta was the result of weather engineering. He acknowledged, however, that the results were not yet optimal due to the limited presence of clouds over the city’s skies.
“This rain is indeed the result of weather modification. At the very least, it has made things a little fresher, although it is not yet optimal because there are simply no clouds,” Pramono said in Jakarta on Wednesday.
Pramono explained that weather engineering to create artificial rain is highly dependent on the presence of clouds, however small their potential. Based on field observations, rain fell twice with an interval of approximately 30 minutes.
“Indeed, it rained twice earlier. There was a break of roughly 30 minutes, then it rained again. This clearly is not the kind of rain one sees during the rainy season,” he added.
According to data from the Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG), most of Jakarta was forecast to be covered by thick clouds on Wednesday afternoon. By late afternoon at 4:00 p.m. Western Indonesia Time, rain was predicted to fall across all of Jakarta with varying intensity.
Light rain was forecast to continue into the evening across nearly all of mainland Jakarta. For the Thousand Islands regency specifically, BMKG issued a warning for potential rain accompanied by lightning at 7:00 p.m. Western Indonesia Time.
Temperatures across Jakarta throughout the day were reported to range between 25 and 32 degrees Celsius. Validated data from the BMKG Gambir station at 6:00 p.m. Western Indonesia Time showed a temperature of 25 degrees Celsius with clear conditions after the modified rain had fallen.