Environment Ministry Reports Weather Modification in Riau Successful

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Ministry of Environment and Forestry reported that the weather modification (TMC) in Riau to control forest fire is successful. Director of Forest Fire Control Thomas Nifinluri said in his statement in Jakarta, on Sunday, August 20, 2023, that rain has been occurring in areas where cloud seeding was conducted as observed from August 10-18, 2023.

"In addition to the rain level, there is an increase in the level of peat soil water in several observation stations which shows an upward trend averaging 15 centimeters rise. These conditions are an indicator that the TMC in Riau has been successful," he said.

According to Thomas, the significance of weather modification in Riau is also apparent through the decrease in hotspots in the province. "This week, there are no hotspots with confidence levels over 80%," Thomas said.

The government will conduct cloud seeding in Riau until today, August 21, 2023. Until August 18, 2023, there are 14 cloud-seeding flights which took up 11,200 kilograms of seeding materials, accumulating in 80-150 millimeters of rain every day for the past nine days.

"We are hoping that the relevant stakeholders keep synergizing in [weather modification] so the purpose of weather modification to prevent forest fire could be reached," Thomas mentioned.

"The anticipation of forest fire is necessary to avoid disrupting the health, transportation, and economy of the locals in Riau. In addition, it is crucial for us to control forest fire considering there are upcoming series of events related to ASEAN Summit during Indonesia's chairmanship of ASEAN in 2023," he concluded.

ANTARA

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