Jakarta. Indonesia’s Meteorological, Climatological, and Geophysical Agency (BMKG) plans to conduct a weather modification operation to reduce rainfall and mitigate flooding in Greater Jakarta.

“The concept is to release rainfall over reservoirs or the sea, as rainfall on land would only shift flooding elsewhere,” BMKG Head Dwikorita Karnawati said at the Presidential Palace complex in Jakarta on Tuesday.

She said that preventing rain clouds from concentrating in one area is crucial to reducing the risk of heavy rainfall and flooding. Weather modification is done by seeding NaCl salt in clouds to control rain intensity while allowing natural rainfall to continue.

The operation, part of the emergency flood response, will be carried out in collaboration with the National Disaster Management Agency (BNPB). Priority areas include West Java, Jakarta, and Banten, where the goal is to lessen rainfall intensity, though not eliminate it entirely.

“We don’t want the clouds to grow too much—just enough to redirect some rain over the sea and reservoirs,” she added.

Scheduled to begin on March 8, the operation is expected to reduce rainfall in flood-prone areas, particularly Jakarta and its surrounding regions.

“This effort is not to prevent rain, which is impossible, but hopefully, God willing, to reduce its intensity,” Dwikorita said.

Flood Impact in Jabodetabek

BNPB continues to monitor emergency flood response efforts in Jakarta, Bogor, Depok, Tangerang, and Bekasi (Greater Jakarta).

In Bekasi, floods have inundated 25 urban villages across 12 districts, affecting 61,233 people. At least 360 residents from the North Bekasi District have evacuated to a nearby mosque. 

Meanwhile, several neighborhoods in South Jakarta, East Jakarta, and West Jakarta remain flooded, impacting 2,098 people, with 1,236 people evacuated to various shelters.

In Banten Province, BNPB is monitoring floods in Tangerang Regency and South Tangerang City. Flooding has affected seven villages across seven districts in Tangerang Regency, displacing 4,157 people.