TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) is intensifying its periodic monitoring of atmospheric dynamics. This monitoring ranges from hourly and daily scales to 10-day period predictions. These predictions serve as the main basis for executing Weather Modification Operations (OMC).
As reported by ANTARA, Acting Deputy for Meteorology at the BMKG, Andri Ramadhani, said in a press conference in Jakarta on Wednesday that intensive monitoring of current active atmospheric conditions is being carried out so that artificial rain interventions can be carried out precisely and efficiently during the dry season.
"We at the Deputy for Meteorology continuously monitor the current atmospheric dynamics, both on an hourly scale and over the next 10 days. Therefore, what the OMC does is precise, efficient, and of course, always taking into account which areas need immediate action," he said.
Andri explained that, during the dry season, when there is typically little cloud growth, real-time hourly atmospheric data is essential for cloud-seeding operators to identify ideal conditions for cloud formation.
This step, based on meteorological data, is mandatory to ensure that the command to release salt (NaCl) into the air actually produces rain in the specified target zone and is not wasted.
The main objectives of weather engineering operations using potential cloud windows are to fill major reservoirs and to moisten peatland areas prone to fire.
The determination of OMC implementation locations is also continuously aligned with regional vulnerability, particularly in food center areas that are starting to experience irrigation water shortages, as well as the six priority provinces included in the forest and land fire disaster alert map.
Jambi is one of six priority provinces for forest and land fire mitigation due to its critical peat forests and mineral areas. It is at risk of burning when dry and is currently conducting weather modification operations.
The implementation of the OMC in Jambi is scheduled to take place from June 5 to 12, 2026. This follows the declaration of a forest and land fire emergency alert status by the Jambi Provincial Government, which will be in effect from April 27 until the end of November 2026.
The air operation, centered at Sultan Thaha Airport in Jambi, involved close collaboration between the BMKG, the National Disaster Management Agency (BNPB), and the Indonesian Air Force. In the first few days of the operation, the air mitigation team seeded one sortie of salt raw materials over vulnerable areas such as West Tanjung Jabung, East Tanjung Jabung, and Muaro Jambi Regencies. These cloud seeding efforts reportedly resulted in localized rainfall in several of these vulnerable areas.
"So, for OMC, BMKG implements it situationally. This means adapting to the current atmospheric dynamics," said Andri.
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