Jabodetabek Residents, Get Ready! The Government Will Create Artificial Rain to Overcome Air Pollution

Dream - The government has started conducting weather modification operations in the Jakarta, Bogor, Depok, Tangerang, Bekasi (Jabodetabek) areas to address air pollution.

The Coordinator of the Weather Modification Technology Management Laboratory at BRIN, Budi Harsoyo, said that the government has spread 800 kilograms of seeding salt in Cianjur Regency, Depok, South Jakarta, and Central Jakarta, at an altitude of around 10,000 feet.

"Weather modification technology to reduce pollutants has been previously implemented by several countries such as China, South Korea, Thailand, and India. Meanwhile, in Indonesia, it is being implemented for the first time in the Jabodetabek area," said Budi as quoted from Merdeka.com.

Based on BMKG's prediction, there is a potential for rain cloud growth in certain areas of DKI Jakarta and the southern part of West Java on August 19-21, 2023.

On the afternoon of August 19, 2023, BMKG reported that the Ciomas area towards Mount Salak was observed to be cloudy. Light rain occurred from 17:27 to 19:51 WIB in West Bogor, South Bogor, Bojong Gede, Kemang, and Tenjolaya.

Meanwhile, the Dramaga, Ciomas, Tamansari, Cijeruk, and Cigombong areas also experienced moderate rain. In other areas such as Cibungbulang, Pamijahan, Leuwiliang, and Nanggung, there was light rain from 19:00 to 21:00 WIB.

Budi said that the most effective way to reduce air pollution is through rain. If it is not possible due to drought, weather modification can be done by disrupting atmospheric stability.

The act of seeding dry ice at a certain altitude can disrupt atmospheric stability, as there is no temperature difference at that altitude or isotherm, which then creates an inversion layer.

"This causes the clusters of pollutants trapped around the Jakarta area to continue rising," said Budi.

Meanwhile, the Head of BMKG's Public Meteorology Center, Andri Ramdhani, revealed that the opportunity for weather modification is still open.

Although it is quite challenging due to the dry season conditions with minimal cumulus clouds, which are the target for seeding salt.

He explained that the upper layer's relative humidity is dry and the convective available potential energy is low. Based on atmospheric modeling results for the next two days, there is a chance of rain in Bogor and South Tangerang.

In another occasion, Minister of Environment and Forestry, Siti Nurbaya Bakar, stated that the ministry will continue to evaluate the results of weather modification in the form of artificial rain sustainably. The evaluation will be conducted on August 28, and September 2 or 4.

According to Siti, tackling air pollution in Jakarta through artificial rain faces some difficulties due to its location being in the form of an alluvial fan or a type of soil formed from deposits, which makes its territory concave.

Therefore, the obstacle for artificial rain sometimes is that it falls into the sea. Moreover, Jakarta has many tall buildings, which disrupt the circulation of air in certain low-lying areas, making it difficult to clean.

"Jakarta is somewhat narrow downwards and wide towards the sea, in terms of geomorphology, it is called an alluvial fan, it narrows on the edges, so it has a fan-like, undulating shape, some parts go up and down," explained Siti.

"In areas like this, theoretically, when pollution comes from below and goes up, its movement is not easy due to wind pressure and others from the hills," she added.