Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi reports initial rainfall from cloud seeding operations, with water levels at dams in Kedah and Perlis showing slight increases.
SUBANG JAYA: Cloud seeding operations launched on Monday are beginning to show early signs of success, with water levels at dams in Perlis and Kedah registering slight rises, according to Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi.
Ahmad Zahid, who chairs the Central Disaster Management Committee, stated that weather radar data indicated rain began over the Muda Dam in Kedah at 3.30 pm before becoming more widespread and persistent across targeted areas in both states between 6 pm and 8 pm.
This resulted in rainfall measuring between 29.8mm and 34.7mm in Perlis and from 9.3mm to 30.9mm in Kedah during the 7 pm to 8 pm period.
He further detailed that a Muda Agricultural Development Authority report recorded 13.5mm of rain at the Pedu station, between 6.0mm and 49.0mm at the Muda station, and 2.0mm to 4.0mm in Ahning, all located within Kedah.
“On its second day today, operations are focusing on the Pedu Dam in Kedah and Timah Tasoh in Perlis, both hit by unusually hot conditions, to boost water levels for domestic, industrial and agricultural use,” he told reporters after overseeing the coordination of operations at Subang Air Base.
With extreme hot weather forecast to continue until the end of the month before easing in June, he confirmed that operations will continue until April 10, with wind and cloud movements being closely monitored.
The Deputy Prime Minister added that the operations, conducted with the Royal Malaysian Air Force, are also set to expand to Perak and Johor, which are facing dry conditions and peatland fires.
He noted the focus in Perak would be on the Temenggor and Bukit Merah dams, while in Johor, operations would target the Lebam, Upper Layang, Lower Layang, Gunung Pulai, and Machap dams.
Ahmad Zahid explained that for this operation, the technical team from the Malaysian Meteorological Department used 200 kg of salt dissolved in 1,500 litres of water per tank, with four such tanks loaded onto an Air Force C-130 Hercules aircraft.
The aircraft flew at altitudes between 5,000 and 9,000 feet to disperse the solution into cumulus clouds over the targeted areas.
“The saltwater speeds up raindrop formation, with rain usually falling 30 to 60 minutes after cloud seeding,” he added.
In a related update, Ahmad Zahid, who is also the Minister of Rural and Regional Development, said fire hotspots remain few and under control, with just one reported in Selangor and a handful in Johor.