Cloud seeding in Penang rescheduled to early May

GEORGE TOWN: The cloud seeding operations by the Royal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF) at Teluk Bahang Dam and Air Itam Dam here have been rescheduled to early May.

Perbadanan Bekalan Air Pulau Pinang (PBAPP) chief executive officer K. Pathmanathan said the main rationale behind this move was to maximise the potential for heavy rain by carrying out cloud seeding operations only when the weather conditions were optimal.

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"The rescheduling of the cloud seeding operation is based on the recommendation of the Malaysian Meteorological Department (MetMalaysia) which is in early May when the weather conditions are optimal as large rain clouds are predicted to appear at the right height.

"It is also based on weather conditions and the target areas of the operations - at Air Itam Dam and Teluk Bahang Dam. We fully support this result-oriented approach,” he said in a statement on Sunday (April 30).

Previously, PBAPP said that the cloud seeding operations are expected to be carried out from April 29 to May 7 to induce heavy rainfall in the areas.

Pathmanathan said the RMAF aircraft carrying out cloud seeding operations in May would take off from the RMAF Subang Air Base in Selangor with a PBAPP engineer on board to witness each mission in Penang.

He said PBAPP would also monitor the results of the cloud seeding operations by recording rainfall in the targeted catchment areas and the effective capacity of the Air Itam Dam and the Teluk Bahang Dam after the operation was completed.

"Depending on the results, the state government and PBAPP may apply for more cloud seeding operations this year and we also appreciate the support of the National Disaster Management Agency (Nadma), RMAF, MetMalaysia and the state Water Regulatory Authority (BKSA) in organising and speeding up the cloud seeding operations for Penang," he said.

Meanwhile, he said until Saturday (April 29), the capacity of the Ayer Itam Dam recorded a level of 43.6 per cent compared with 82 per cent on Jan 1 while the Teluk Bahang Dam was at a level of 49.1 per cent compared with 64 per cent for the same period, both of which have decreased due to the lack of rainfall in the catchment areas.

"The prolonged dry season (related to climate change) and the high demand for water in Penang since the beginning of January are the main causes of this phenomenon,” he said.

He added that the dams need to be refilled with as much water as possible to avoid a potential water supply crisis in Penang before the next rainy season.- Bernama