JAKARTA. The National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) said on Monday that it had allocated Rp 200 billion (US$14.7 million) for creating artificial rain in seven provinces in Indonesia during the prolonged dry season.
The agency’s head, Syamsul Maarif, said the seven provinces were West Java, Central Java, East Java, South Sumatra, South Sulawesi, Lampung and West Nusa Tenggara.
Syamsul said that the budget would fund the operation three planes for the artificial rain.
The Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency said previously that moderate El Nino effects would cause a dry spell in the southern regions of Indonesia from August to December with Lampung, South Sumatra, Java and South Sulawesi being the most affected areas.
Syamsul, however, called on the public not to worry about El Nino’s impact on the dry season, as he expected that it would be over by the end of October and that it would start to rain in November.
“I hope the clouds are coming,” he said, as quoted by tempo.co.
