REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAMBI -- Jambi Province is awaiting the arrival of a Cassa 212 airplane that will be used to produce artificial rain and to overcome haze in the area.
Head of the Haze Emergency Response Task Force of the 0421/Garuda Military Resort of Jambi, Mayor Imam Safii said here on Sunday his side was still waiting for a Cassa 212 aircraft from Jakarta.
Safii said the plane had not yet arrived because planes could not yet land on Jambi's Sulthan Thaha airport due to haze. "The current haze condition at the airport where visibility is still limited still hampers the plane to land," he said.
"The weather in Jambi can now be modified to produce rain but the plane has not yet arrived. We are still waiting for the improvement of the weather conditions," he said.
National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) Deputy Head for Jambi province Tri Budiarto said earlier that the Cassa 212 airplane is expected to shuttle between Jambi and Palembang (South Sumatra) in its mission to produce artificial rain through weather modification.
The weather is to be modified by spreading salt on the air. Based on plan, the plane will take one ton of salt to be spread on the air during its flight from Palembang to Jambi, and one ton from Jambi to Palemang.
"The Cassa plane will shuttle the Palembang and Jambi route during which it will carry 1,000 kg salt in one flight to be spread on the air to produce artificial rain," Budiarto said.
He said that the salt powder will be used to modify the weather or cloud to trigger rain over the Musi Banyuasin area, in South Sumatra.
"At Jambi airport we will prepare 10 tons of salt. With such a volume of salt, we will need about seven to 10 days to do the job," he said.
Besides that, he said, the other efforts made to put out forest and land fires in Jambi are water bombings from the air.
"Another unit airtractor plane from the ministry of forestry is expected to arrive in Jambi to help put out the fires. Land operations also continue to be carried out," Budiarto said.
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