After more than six weeks without rain, Indonesia will soon start cloud seeding in an effort to kickstart precipitation and end an El Niño-driven drought that has put 50,000 acres of crops at risk of harvest failure, Reuters reported.
After more than six weeks without rain, Indonesia will soon start cloud seeding in an effort to kickstart precipitation and end an El Niño-driven drought that has put 50,000 acres of crops at risk of harvest failure, Reuters reported. Indonesian officials said the at-risk crops are worth an estimated $215 million — a loss that could cause significant food instability in the region.
“Our priority is to maintain stability of food supply in Indonesia and avoid a drastic drop in production, which could result in a huge amount of imports,” Indonesian President Joko Widodo said last week.
Indonesian authorities said they will send salt flares into passing clouds as early as the end of this month. Salt naturally attracts water, and as the particles become saturated and heavier, they fall from the sky as raindrops. Indonesia previously used cloud seeding to fight fire-related haze in 2015 and to reduce flooding in Jakarta in 2013, by forcing clouds to release their rain over the ocean before reaching the capital city.
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