South Sumatra Governor Optimises Weather Modification Team to Combat Forest Fires

Palembang (ANTARA) - The Governor of South Sumatra, Herman Der<0xA0>Deru, is optimising the work of the Weather Modification Operation (OMC) team to tackle forest and land fires (karhutla), as smoke begins to disrupt various public activities and community health.

“To optimise the work of the OMC team, we have requested the National Disaster Management Agency (BNPB) to increase operational activities throughout this September 2026,” he stated in Palembang on Friday.

He explained that with the support of the BNPB, the OMC team can optimally attempt to produce artificial rain, particularly in several areas vulnerable to forest fires.

To date, the OMC team has conducted 54 operations; however, the results have not yet been able to bring rain evenly across all regions of the province, which comprises 17 regencies and cities.

“I am grateful to all task force members who have done so much. This is a collective effort; out of the 54 times the OMC team has deployed to attempt artificial rain, rain has only successfully fallen in a few spots in South Sumatra,” he said.

“Currently, rainfall remains very low. To maximise forest fire prevention, it is necessary to conduct weather modification operations and ground-based operations,” he added.

He explained that the hot weather during the 2026 dry season, influenced by El Niño, has caused drought, making it difficult for the South Sumatra Forest Fire Task Force to access water.

“Firefighting via water bombing from helicopters requires long flight times to collect water and is also limited by SOPs. Therefore, what needs to be strengthened is ground-based firefighting efforts by the joint task force consisting of the BPBD, TNI, Polri, Manggala Agni, and other elements,” said Governor Herman Deru.