Cloud seeding mulled amid El Niño

Two municipalities in Mindoro province are planning to declare the hard-hit areas under state of calamity as the weather phenomenon continues to inflict damage and losses to their crops, mainly rice, corn and vegetables

As the onslaught of El Niño continues to affect crops in various areas of the country, the Department of Agriculture is planning to conduct a cloud seeding operation as a mitigating measure.

In a statement, the DA said that as part of the measures to lessen the adverse effects of the El Niño phenomenon, crops in Laoag City are already being harvested earlier to save them from withering.

According to Australia’s Water Corporation, “cloud seeding is the process of artificially generating rain by implanting clouds with particles such as silver iodide crystals.”

“Salt is hygroscopic in nature. When we say ‘hygroscopic,’ it has the ability to attract moisture. If we dispense the salt at a height when it reaches the height, it will attract moisture,” said PAGASA assistant weather services chief Engr. Lorenzo Moron.

However, Moron stressed that not all clouds have moisture content as there are dry clouds, saying that even if kilos of salt is poured to dry clouds, it will have no effect.

Meanwhile, two municipalities in Mindoro province are planning to declare the hard-hit areas under state of calamity as the weather phenomenon continues to inflict damage and losses to their crops, mainly rice, corn and vegetables.

According to the Municipal Agriculture Office, over 500 hectares of rice farmland in the municipality of Bulalacao in Oriental Mindoro have dried up, and even the river responsible for irrigation also now lacks water.

MAO’s data showed that the onslaught of El Niño has caused P60 million worth of damage to onions and P25 million worth of value loss to rice.