BMKG Holds Weather Modification Operations At IKN To Accelerate Infrastructure Development

Head of BMKG Dwikorita Karnawati. (Photo: Doc. ANTARA)

JAKARTA - The Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) held a weather modification operation in the State Capital (IKN) of the Archipelago, East Kalimantan.

This is done to reduce the intensity of rain in the IKN development area, so as to accelerate infrastructure development.

"The weather modification operation is to support the acceleration of infrastructure development, such as IKN VVIP Airport and toll roads," said BMKG Head Dwikorita Karnawati as quoted from the BMKG official website, Thursday, June 20.

Dwikorita said, based on the results of the analysis of rainfall predictions in June 2024, the East Kalimantan region was categorized as medium with monthly rainfall ranging from 200-300 millimeters.

"So, in order to accelerate infrastructure development, the weather modification operation aims to divide the clouds in order to minimize the occurrence of maximum rain between June 13-23 and 2024," he said.

Meanwhile, Acting Deputy for Weather Modification of BMKG Tri Handoko Seto added that a total of six weather modification operations had been carried out. During that period, ten pieces of cloud seeding flights have been carried out with a total of 21 hours 25 minutes of flight.

"The total amount of material that has been used for weather modification operations is 8 tons of NaCI powder out of a total of 16 tons that have been prepared," he said.

During the activity, cloud seeding is carried out in areas that have the potential to cause rain in the IKN supporting infrastructure development area, namely IKN VVIP Airport and toll roads.

The selection of cloud seeding areas is prioritized every day in the upwind area with the aim of preventing rain clouds from entering the target area, namely the area for development activities.

Areas that have been seeded include the Makassar Strait, Kutai Kartanegara Regency and Paser Regency.

The implementation of the weather modification operation is supported by the Casa 212-400 aircraft fleet with registration A-2114 belonging to the Squadron 4 of the Indonesian Air Force.

"We hope that the weather modification operation will have an impact and benefit for the wider community and mitigate the disaster risks that occur," he concluded.