Thankfully, Klang Valley folks will not have to wait too long to get some relief from the prolonged dry spell as changes in wind patterns are expected, said the Malaysian Meteorological Department (MMD).
MMD’s national weather centre director Muhammad Helmi Abdullah said rain was expected to occur progressively following the switch from the north-eastern monsoon towards the inter-monsoon season over the next two weeks.
“It is difficult to predict when the next showers will occur, but by mid-March, do expect more showers and thunderstorms,” he said.
Despite that, cloud seeding operations would still go on over water catchment areas serving dams, Muhammad Helmi said.
“At the moment, our primary focus is to increase water levels in these areas, although the rain does help with reducing the haze as well,” he said.
He added that unless the haze reached critical levels, there would not be any cloud seeding just to combat haze.
“While rain does help to reduce the haze by breaking up the suspended aerosols in the air, it is not a long-term solution,” he said, adding that sources of particulate matter must be tackled in order to bring about clean air.
Muhammad Helmi said Monday afternoon’s cloud seeding operation was a success as it produced rain in several areas, though their effect on water levels in dams still cannot be confirmed.
Following that, another round of cloud seeding was also conducted at 2.45pm on the 4th of March at the southern part of the peninsula, said MMD’s director of atmospheric science and cloud seeding division Azhar Ishak.
He added that each operation would take between two to three hours at a cost of about RM80,000.
[Source]
