Follow all the information, and follow everything that is conveyed by the BMKGJakarta (ANTARA) - President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) has asked the public to rely on the Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) for information on extreme weather.
"Follow all the information, and follow everything that is conveyed by the BMKG," he said at the State Palace here on Wednesday.
Earlier, a researcher from the National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN) had said that extreme rain, which could cause severe storms, was likely to occur on December 28, 2022. This left a number of people worried about impending disaster.
However, head of the BMKG’s Public Meteorology Center, Fachri Radjab, on Tuesday clarified that rain of moderate to heavy, even very heavy, intensity could be recorded until early January 2023.
Higher rainfall of heavy to very heavy intensity has been forecast for December 30, 2022.
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Heavy rain and strong winds can cause storms, such as tropical cyclones where wind speeds may reach around 64–72 knots, the BMKG said. Storms are usually accompanied by bad weather.
Following the weather forecast, BMKG appealed to the public to remain calm and continue to check information through BMKG's official channels.
The government is preparing a weather modification plan involving salt seeding to check the growth of rain clouds and suppress extreme weather that is expected to occur on December 28 in Jakarta.
The weather forecast is based on data conveyed by a BRIN researcher.
"We will try to modify the weather with a competition pattern, which is burning salt-seeding material to disrupt cloud growth. This is done by adding main condensation," acting head of the Regional Disaster Mitigation Agency (BPBD) of Jakarta, Isnawa Adji, said earlier.
He informed that salt seeding is part of the weather modification technique (TMC).
Jakarta BPBD coordinated with Air Wings 1 Squadron 2 of the Indonesian Air Force, BRIN, and the National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) at Halim Perdanakusuma Air Force Base, East Jakarta, on Tuesday regarding the weather modification.
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Based on this coordination, the Indonesian Air Force prepared several types of aircraft, including the CN-212 aircraft, which can carry 800 kilograms of salt-seeding material and release it using manual deployment techniques.
Meanwhile, the Cassa aircraft type can carry 2.4 tons of salt and it takes two hours to prepare the salt-seeding material. The Hercules aircraft type can take a minimum of 5 tons of seeding material.
Adji said that TMC would only be effective starting in the morning until around 5 p.m. local time, with effective results seen within the succeeding 4–15 hours.
Even so, TMC can only be implemented in Jakarta if the regional head declares an emergency alert status, he added.
"Regarding this, BNPB stated its readiness to carry out the TMC assisted by the Air Force, BRIN, and BMKG," Adji said.
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Translator: Desca L, Azis Kurmala
Editor: Fardah Assegaf
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