KUCHING: The Sarawak Disaster Management Committee (SDMC) is exploring all available options, including cloud seeding, to counter the prolonged dry and hot weather conditions.
SDMC Chairman and Deputy Premier Datuk Amar Douglas Uggah Embas explained that while cloud seeding is a possible solution, it requires specific atmospheric conditions.
“We will look at all the options, because cloud seeding is not simple. You have to have clouds with sufficient moisture.
“We can’t plant salt without any moisture. Otherwise, the salt will fall, not the rain. So, we are looking at all the options,” he said at a press conference at Wisma Bapa today.
When asked whether cloud seeding should be initiated if the dry spell extends beyond a week, Uggah stated that duration and temperature alone do not determine the feasibility of the operation.
“My answer is the same – not the timing or the heat. We need to see whether there is any cloud to be cloud seeded.
“The chemical will dissolve into the cloud. If not, like today, there are no clouds,” he said.
Cloud seeding is a weather modification technique used to encourage rainfall by dispersing certain substances into the atmosphere – typically silver iodide or salt – into clouds that have enough moisture.
These particles act as nuclei that encourage water droplets to form and grow, eventually becoming heavy enough to fall as rain.
However, cloud seeding cannot be carried out unless there are clouds with sufficient moisture.
Without suitable cloud conditions, the chemicals will have no effect, and no rain will be produced.
