Jakarta Mulls Creating Artificial Rain to Tackle Air Pollution

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Jakarta provincial administration is considering to create artificial rain to deal with air pollution. City Environment Agency acting head Andono Warih said that his side would further discuss the option.

“That’s an option but the city administration doesn’t have skills and resources for that,” said Andono in Jakarta Legislative Council (DPRD) building, Wednesday, July 3.

Andono explained the Agency for the Assessment and Application of Technology (BPPT) had proposed the capital to conduct weather modification, such as artificial rain. The BPPT head Hammam Riza through his Instagram account mentioned three scenarios, namely cloud seeding, removal of inversion layers, and water spraying either from air or land.

Hammam said that his agency’s Weather Modification Technology Center (BBTMC) had coordinated with the city administration, the Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysics Agency (BMKG), Air Force (TNI AU), and the National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) to improve the air condition in Jakarta.

The reason, according to Andono, was the dry season or El Nino phenomenon affected air pollution in the capital. Particles produced from vehicles, industry, or other activities caused the inversion effect in the atmosphere during the dry season, meaning that the particles would create layers or smog in the atmosphere.

“When the rain pours, the layers will be cleared. This is similar to when we wash our dirty clothes that the water washes away the dirt. So rainfall can clear the dirt and make [the air] cleaner,” Andono said.

The city’s air quality has recently become public concerns since an air quality forecaster AirVisual recorded Jakarta as the world’s worst populated city on Wednesday, June 26.

LANI DIANA WIJAYA