Perlis Govt requests for immediate cloud seeding

The Perlis government has requested for the federal government to immediately conduct cloud seeding in the state, as the water in the Timah Tasoh Dam reached critical level.

Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Azlan Man said the water level in the dam had declined from 26.42m Tuesday to 26.40m Wednesday, which is below the critical level of 26.50m.

He said the few hours of rainfall three days ago was not enough to raise the water level of the dam.

"Cloud seeding is the best way to raise the water level due to the current extreme hot weather," Azlan said when contacted.

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Meanwhile, Perlis Department of Irrigation and Drainage director Abdul Najib Abdullah when contacted by Bernama said cloud seeding was the best option at the moment.

"If the condition persists, the water supply in the Timah Tasoh Dam is expected to last only for another month. Before that, the water may have to be rationed," he said, adding that continuous rainfall was the only way for the water level to rise.

Yesterday, Energy, Green Technology and Water Minister Datuk Seri Dr Maximus Ongkili said six dams in four states including Timah Tasoh saw their water-levels dropped below 30 per cent.

In SABAH, the Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation (Mosti) Datuk Seri Madius Tangau has directed the Malaysian Meteorological Department (MetMalaysia) to conduct cloud seeding operations (CSO) immediately to curb the haze situation in the state.

He said the directive was a proactive response to address the haze issue which had been plaguing Sabah for the last few days.

"However, the success of the CSO depends on ideal natural factors. CSO cannot produce rain without the existence of appropriate clouds, and its formation is determined by the absolute natural process, which is beyond human control or even technology," he said in a statement.