KOTA KINABALU: Cloud seeding should be implemented immediately amid fears that the scorching heat and dry spell could severely deplete Sabah's dam water reserves, says a state leader.
Parti Gagasan Rakyat Sabah vice president Datuk Masiung Banah (pic) said the dry spell has started to affect natural water supplies and fears are growing that in the absence of rain, the state's water reserves could dry up in three months.
"There is a need for the Federal Government to (immediately) carry out cloud seeding in Sabah," the Kuamut assemblyman said on Monday (March 4).
He added that the state government should make an official request to the National Disaster Management Agency (Nadma) without delay.
He said the Sabah Water Department reported that the state's reservoirs could supply water for only three months to meet consumers' needs.
Masiung noted that river water levels have also dropped significantly in some areas since the hot spell began about a month ago.
"This has destroyed crops and livestock and has also begun to affect the water supply to people in rural areas," he said.
Masiung said meteorologists have forecast that dry and hot conditions in Sabah could continue until the end of May.
Masiung said successful cloud seeding could also help avoid water rationing and reduce inconvenience to Muslims who will begin fasting during Ramadan from the second week of March.
He said measures should also be put in place for schools for the well-being of students, who will begin their new term next week.
Last week, some 200 villagers in the Kiulu sub-district in the foothills of Mount Kinabalu reported that their gravity water feed supply had dried up during the hot spell.
