Jakarta, Indonesia Sentinel — The fifth day of the Weather Modification Operation (WMO) has been deemed successful in mitigating the potential intensity of extreme rainfall across the Jakarta metropolitan area.
Indonesia remains in the peak of the rainy season, with extreme weather affecting several regions, including Jakarta. These weather conditions include heavy rainfall accompanied by strong winds and thunderstorms.
In collaboration between the Jakarta Disaster Mitigation Agency (BPBD), the Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysics Agency (BMKG), the Indonesian Air Force (TNI AU), and PT Rekayasa Atmosphere Indonesia (RAI), the government carried out the weather modification effort in Jakarta.
Acting Director of Weather Modification Management at BMKG, Budi Harsoyo states that the effort on weather modifications has successfully reduce the risk of extreme weather in Jakarta.
“The potential for extreme rainfall has been controlled through WMO implementation. Data from various rainfall measurement stations indicate that none have recorded heavy rainfall exceeding 50 mm per day,” said Budi on Tuesday (February 18), as reported by Antara.
Suppressing Extreme Weather
Budi explained that moderate to heavy rainfall potential persists in Jakarta, with cloud formation in Banten, Jakarta, and West Java remaining significant. “This is also supported by a rapid evaporation process over the Sunda Strait,” he added.
Budi further noted that the risk of extreme rainfall has been successfully suppressed, as indicated by rainfall measurement data in Jakarta. “Moderate rainfall was detected in Pulomas, measuring 24 mm per day,” he said.
Michael Sitanggang, Head of the Logistics and Equipment Subgroup at BPBD Jakarta and spokesperson for the 2025 WMO program, elaborated on the strategy employed on the fifth day, which included two flight sorties aimed at reducing extreme rainfall.
“The targeted seeding areas were in the west, west-southwest, and northwest regions to mitigate the predicted extreme weather expected in the afternoon,” he said.
This initiative is part of a comprehensive strategy to mitigate extreme weather risks and prevent hydrometeorological disasters in Jakarta.
Weather Modification Operation (WMO)
The Jakarta provincial government began implementing weather modification efforts on Friday, February 14, 2025, and the operation is set to continue until February 21. This initiative is in response to the forecasted extreme weather conditions expected during this period (February 14–21, 2025).
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Budi emphasized that the primary goal of WMO in Jakarta is to mitigate extreme weather conditions that, if left unaddressed, could lead to flooding. “We have a rainfall intensity threshold that can trigger flooding in Jakarta, which is when precipitation exceeds 50 mm per day,” he explained.
Therefore, if forecasts predict rainfall exceeding this threshold, WMO measures will be deployed as a precautionary step.
Michael also reported that, as of the fifth day, the operation had conducted a total of seven sorties, utilizing 5.6 tons of food-grade NaCl (salt) for cloud seeding.
As extreme weather in Jakarta persist with high potential of heavy rainfall to pour on the region, the government has put an effort for mitigations. The weather modification is part of a comprehensive strategy to prevent hydrometeorological disasters especially flood in Jakarta.
(Raidi/Agung)
