BPBD Jakarta prepares a budget of up to Rp31 billion for weather modification

JAKARTA - The DKI Jakarta Regional Disaster Management Agency (BPBD) has prepared a budget of up to tens of billions of rupiah for weather modification operations (OMC) throughout 2026. This step is taken to minimize extreme weather.

"The OMC budget this year is up to Rp. 31 billion throughout 2026," said the Head of the DKI Jakarta BPBD, Isnawa Adji, when confirmed by reporters, Friday, January 16, 2026.

Isnawa emphasized that OMC is carried out throughout the year because it is not only for handling extreme rain during the rainy season. During the dry season, this activity will also be carried out to reduce air pollution levels and maintain water availability.

"OMC can be carried out during the dry season, to create artificial rain to suppress pollution, and can be the rainy season," he said.

All areas in Jakarta, including Thousand Islands, are OMC priorities. Isnawa said the location of cloud seeding was determined dynamically based on the results of the analysis of the Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysics Agency (BMKG).

He explained that if the potential for extreme rain comes from the southern area of Jakarta, then cloud seeding is carried out in the area around Depok and Bogor.

Meanwhile, if the potential rain comes from the north, planting can be done in the area around Tangerang.

"If (the rain, ed.) in South Jakarta, OMC is above Depok, Bogor. If in the north, it can be above Tangerang," he said.

As previously reported, the DKI Jakarta Provincial Government has extended the implementation period of the OMC, which was originally carried out for five days from January 13, 2026, to January 22, 2026.

The OMC was carried out in connection with the potential for extreme weather and increased rainfall in most parts of Indonesia in the next week.

OMC will be carried out in cooperation with the Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) together with the Indonesian Air Force.

This activity is important to be carried out as an anticipatory step to reduce the potential for hydrometeorological disasters, especially floods and puddles that often occur during high rainfall.