Indonesia uses cloud seeding to speed up construction of future capital

Nusantara, rising from the ground in the middle of the tropical forest, must officially succeed Jakarta, the current congested capital which is sinking inexorably below sea level, after its inauguration by President Joko Widodo on August 17, the day anniversary of the independence of this archipelago.

But contractors, whose construction work on the city has been hampered by daily rainfall, have asked authorities to carry out a "weather modification operation", said Tri Handoko Seto, a senior official at the Indonesian agency. of meteorology, climatology and geophysics (BMKG).

“They submitted a request to carry out a weather modification operation so that the rain that falls every day can be diverted to another location, eliminated in a certain area or at least reduced,” Mr. Seto explained to the AFP.

This technique, cloud seeding, which involves introducing tiny particles to cause rain over small geographic areas, has gained popularity around the world to combat drought or increase local water supplies.

However, scientists say it cannot create the weather - or trigger rainfall of the magnitude seen in countries like Germany and the United States.

The cloud-seeding operation around Nusantara began last week and is expected to end on Sunday, followed by an assessment to determine whether it is necessary to continue, Seto said.

This is the first time that authorities have used this technique around this site to reduce rainfall.

Floods and landslides are common during the vast archipelago's six-month rainy season and the BMKG predicts that heavy rains around Nusantara will last until August.

The Indonesian government aims to settle a population of 1,9 million inhabitants there by 2045 and to concentrate human and industrial activities there, in the heart of Borneo.

The establishment of the new capital is strongly criticized by environmentalists, who denounce deforestation in one of the largest expanses of tropical rainforest in the world.

Thousands of civil servants are expected in this city from September but the project has been delayed by several months due to the slow pace of construction work.