Make it rain: Indonesia chases clouds to stem El NiÑo fires
Indonesia’s Borneo, home to pristine rainforest and protected species, is burning. Meteorologist Safillah Anggie Wahyuni hopes a solution lies in the clouds.
Indonesia believes cloud seeding can help it tackle a wildfire season that experts say is on track to be among the worst in years, driven by a strong El Niño.
Indonesia’s government says over 100,000 hectares burned in the first half of the year.
Independent analysis by deforestation monitoring site Nusantara Atlas puts the figure through July at over 285,000 hectares—more than four times the size of Jakarta.
Cloud seeding, which involves sprinkling silver iodide, salts or other particles into clouds to trigger precipitation, is rarely used to tackle wildfires globally.
But Indonesia is ramping up efforts, scarred by 2015 fires during a previous strong El Niño that burned through millions of hectares and created a regional haze crisis.
Indonesia carried out 252 cloud seeding operations between 2021 and August this year—up from 85 in the preceding decade, according to the BMKG weather agency.
Hard to assess
Most tried to draw rain away from flooded areas, but many sought to douse wildfires or wet flammable peatlands.
Research suggests the efficacy of cloud seeding is hard to assess.
It has also raised questions about harms linked to widespread use of silver iodide, as well as the cost.
Cloud seeding is “a mitigation effort, not a permanent solution,” acknowledged BMKG weather modification director Budi Harsoyo, insisting there is no evidence of harm.
Activists say mitigation efforts like cloud seeding ignore underlying problems, including mass conversion of rainforest and peatland.
Indonesia has large swathes of tropical peatlands. They are an important carbon store when wet, but become highly flammable when dry, and fires can smoulder underground and reignite quickly.
These vulnerable ecosystems should be protected against development, said Uli Arta Siagian, campaign coordinator with local environmental group Walhi.
“The responsibility for protection lies with the state by not issuing permits in areas that are vulnerable to fire,” she told Agence France-Presse (AFP).
Indonesia regularly battles devastating fires that send a choking haze over neighbors Malaysia and Singapore.
In recent days, haze from the fires has spiked air pollution levels in the Malaysian part of Borneo island, prompting several school closures.
This year’s fires will be turbocharged by a powerful El Niño—a naturally occurring climate phenomenon that brings worldwide changes in winds, air pressure and rainfall patterns.
