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Lack of planes hamper weather modification efforts
Significant results have yet to be seen from weather engineering, which has been carried out since last week, as incessant rain continues to pound the city
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ignificant results have yet to be seen from weather engineering, which has been carried out since last week, as incessant rain continues to pound the city.
The Weather Modification Technology, a joint cooperation between the Assessment and Application of Technology Agency (BPPT), the National Mitigation Disaster Agency (BNPB) and the Air Force, utilizes two methods to disperse rain.
BPPT Artificial Rain Technical Unit head F. Heru Widodo said that one of the methods was cloud-seeding outside Jakarta, aimed to redirect rain to the sea.
'However, we lack of planes to drop sodium chloride on clouds,' he said over the weekend.
'In 2013, we managed to reduce monthly rainfall by 30 percent by using three planes. We expect similar results this year. Hopefully we will [get more planes] along the way,' said Heru.
The Transportation Management Center (TMC) had thus far only used one C-130 Hercules aircraft to operate one to two flights per day, whereas in 2013, there were five to six flights per day, said Heru.
As of Sunday, the plane has flown six times, carrying 21,240 tons of salt in total.
He said that due to several major natural disasters hitting the country, there was a limited number of planes available for the operation.
'The planes are being used to deliver aid to Sinabung [Mountain in North Sumatra] and Manado [in North Sulawesi],' he said.
Since the start of the weather modification project on Jan. 14, heavy rain coupled with high tides have led to flooding in many parts of the city, resulting in the evacuation of over 48,263 residents.
The project began following the issuance of a flood emergency status in the capital by Governor Joko 'Jokowi' Widodo.
BNPB spokesperson Sutopo Purwo Nugroho said on Sunday that his agency had requested one more Hercules plane and one Casa 212-200 light transport aircraft from the Air Force.
'The BPPT will also provide its Casa plane, which will be ready either on Monday or Tuesday,' said Sutopo.
Both Sutopo and Heru were confident about the weather modification project, saying that the technology would be effective in reducing the intensity of rainfall.
Heru said that the rain on Saturday might have been heavier if no weather modification was carried out.
Sutopo felt similarly. 'I believe the weather modification affected rainfall since last Tuesday, we just haven't calculated the details yet.'
The plane flew to areas around the Sunda Strait and Pelabuhan Ratu in West Java, as most clouds these past days had come from the west, Sutopo said.
The BNPB earmarked Rp 20 billion (US$1.6 million) for the two-month weather modification project, up from Rp 13 billion last year.
Besides cloud seeding, ground-based generators were put in 20 places to hinder cloud growth. (nai)
