Call for cloud seeding in Sabah

KOTA KINABALU: There is a need for the Federal government to take drastic measures to carry out cloud seeding in Sabah.

The current hot and dry weather reaching up to 40 degrees Celsius has started to affect the existing water supply at the state dam, said Kuamut assemblyman Datuk Masiung Banah.

According to him, the Sabah Water Department (JAS) report shows that the water dam reservoir is at a critical stage and only three months remain to cover the needs of users.

In addition, he said water resources in river basins in several districts have also shown a significant decrease.

“The high heat wave that destroyed crops and livestock has begun to affect the water supply of people in rural areas,” he said in a statement on Monday.

The Vice President of the Sabah People’s Ideas Party (Gagasan Rakyat) wants the Sabah government to immediately submit an application to the National Disaster Management Agency (NADMA) to carry out the cloud seeding process.

Elaborating on the issue, Masiung said at the moment, the drought and hot weather in Sabah had already lasted one month.

METMalaysia also predicts that the dry and hot conditions in Sabah will continue until the end of next May.

The southwest monsoon phenomenon this time is quite unusual and the government needs to take drastic measures to speed up the cloud seeding process.

Masiung said that residents would not like measures to ration water supply. Moreover, in the middle of March, Muslims will fast.

At the same time, he said, schools also started to open, where hot and dry weather can cause people to be exposed to heat stroke.