Dry and cloudless now, so seeding put on hold

PETALING JAYA: The Meteorological Depart­ment’s decision to carry out cloud seeding has been put on hold due to unfavourable weather conditions.

Its director Alui Bahari said cloud seeding could only be carried out in suitable atmospheric conditions.

“The department has had several meetings on cloud seeding but the decision to carry it out has been put on hold due to unfavourable weather conditions.

“Cloud seeding operations may not be successful if it is carried out now due to the current weather.

“The weather is quite dry now and it is cloudless. If we do it now, the success rate will be low so we need to wait until the atmosphere is quite suitable.

“If there are no clouds, then nothing can be done,” he told The Star yesterday.

The department, he said, was constantly monitoring the changes and would carry out the cloud seeding operation once there were changes in the atmospheric condition.

According to its website, cloud seeding was carried out over dams in Durian Tunggal, Malacca, and Langat, Klang Gate, Semenyih and Sungai Tinggi in the Klang Valley over the years during dry spells.

Earlier yesterday, Deputy Energy, Green Technology and Water Minister Datuk Seri Mahdzir Khalid had said that the Govern­ment planned to carry out cloud seeding around water catchments this week to prevent a water crisis in Kuala Lumpur and Selangor.

Related story:
Dams in Selangor drying up fast