Indonesia chases clouds to fight El Nino-fueled fires

Indonesia is turning to the skies for a solution to its escalating wildfire crisis, deploying cloud seeding technology to combat blazes intensified by a strong El Nino. The nation is hoping to trigger rainfall by sprinkling silver iodide, salts, or other particles into clouds, a method rarely employed globally to tackle wildfires.

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Weather modification does not create clouds: we optimise clouds that have the potential to produce rains.

The urgency is palpable, with the Indonesian government reporting over 100,000 hectares consumed by fire in the first six months of the year. Independent analysis from Nusantara Atlas paints an even grimmer picture, estimating the burned area through July exceeded 285,000 hectares – more than four times the size of Jakarta.

This intensified effort marks a significant ramp-up in Indonesia's use of weather modification. Between 2021 and August this year, the country conducted 252 cloud-seeding operations, a stark contrast to the 85 operations in the preceding decade, according to the BMKG weather agency. While many operations aimed to divert rain from flood-prone areas, a substantial number focused on dousing wildfires or moistening flammable peatlands.

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Weather modification will only be effective if the conditions are right.

Safillah Anggie Wahyuni, a meteorologist involved in the operations, explained that weather modification optimizes existing clouds for rain, emphasizing its effectiveness is contingent on suitable conditions. Despite the technological push, ground-based firefighting remains the bulk of the effort, with nearly 50,000 firefighters deployed. Experts like I Putu Santikayasa, a hydroclimatology lecturer, express skepticism about cloud seeding's efficacy during the dry season, citing the scarcity of clouds as a major limitation.

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We are on alert to changes in weather, even the slightest, which could result in rain clouds.

Budi Harsoyo, director of weather modification at BMKG, acknowledged that cloud seeding is a mitigation effort, not a definitive solution, and stated there is no evidence of harm from its widespread use, including that of silver iodide. The technique, first used in Indonesia in 1977, is supported by dozens of helicopters and planes on standby nationwide, ready to act on even the slightest weather changes that might yield rain clouds.

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Its effectiveness will be very low because of the lack of clouds.