KUALA LUMPUR: The federal government will carry out cloud seeding operations in Perak and Kedah from tomorrow until Wednesday, Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said.
Zahid, who is also the National Disaster Committee chairman, said the operations aim to increase the water level at the Bukit Merah Dam in Perak and the Muda Dam in Kedah.
He added that the operation is being carried out following a request from the Muda Agricultural Development Authority, the Kerian Integrated Agricultural Development Area and the Kedah State Water Resources Board.
The operations, he said, be coordinated by the National Disaster Management Agency, the Agriculture and Food Security Ministry, the Malaysian Meteorological Department and the Royal Malaysian Air Force.
"This is one of the government's efforts to address the impact of the hot weather phenomenon and the Southwest Monsoon, which are expected to continue until the end of September.
"This follows the forecast made by MetMalaysia, which predicts low rainfall in Kedah and Perak," he said in a statement today.
MetMalaysia director-general Muhammad Helmi Abdullah recently told a Malay daily that hotter and drier days are expected to last until September due to the ongoing Southwest Monsoon.
He added that many areas will experience less rainfall and that open burning should be avoided to reduce the risk of haze.
Zahid said water supply from the Muda Dam is channeled to the Pedu Dam for domestic, industrial, and paddy irrigation needs in Kedah.
"At the start of the paddy planting season around Sungai Muda, there will be a conflict between domestic, industrial, and paddy irrigation needs.
"As such, priority will be given to domestic and industrial needs. The lack of rainfall will cause water reservoirs to continue to decline, which will be insufficient to meet long-term needs (in Kedah)," he said.
Zahid said according to the National Water Services Commission, the water reservoir percentage at the Muda and Bukit Merah Dams stood at 9.44 per cent and 15.25 per cent respectively as of July 26.
"As the chairman of the committee, I agree for the cloud seeding operations to be conducted to ensure there is sufficient water supply at catchment areas around the country as we face this hot and dry weather."
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