GEORGE TOWN, Feb 27 — Cloud seeding operations over Penang Island are expected to be conducted today and tomorrow, according to Penang Water Supply Corporation (PBAPP).
PBAPP chief executive officer K. Pathmanathan said the operations are to induce rainfall over the water catchment areas (WCA) of Air Itam Dam and Teluk Bahang Dam.
The operations are directed and coordinated by the National Disaster Management Agency and will be conducted by the Royal Malaysian Air Force.
However, he said the cloud seeding operations are subjected to atmospheric and cloud conditions.
“In the period from February 1 to February 27, PBAPP has recorded only 45mm of rainfall in the Air Itam Dam WCA and 71.5mm of rainfall in the Teluk Bahang Dam WCA,” he said in a statement issued today.
The effective capacity of the Air Itam Dam had dropped from 68.9 per cent on January 1 this year to 37 per cent today while in Teluk Bahang Dam it has dropped by 15.8 per cent from 95.4 per cent to 79.6 per cent today.
Pathmanathan said successive cloud seeding operations in May and June last year contributed to a total of 30.5mm of rainfall in the Air Itam Dam’s water catchment areas.
“This rainfall helped to ensure that there was no water crisis in Air Itam in 2023,” he said.
He said PBAPP’s implementation of its Air Itam Dam Action Plan 2024 is gradually raising the effective capacity of the Air Itam Dam from 32.8 per cent on February 5 to 37 per cent today.
He said any amount of rainfall would be useful to increase the raw water reserves of the dams until the next rainy season.
“PBAPP is grateful to the state and federal government for initiating the much-needed cloud seeding operations,” he said.
