Indonesia has initiated cloud-seeding operations in four provinces to mitigate the haze caused by ongoing forest and land fires. The government is employing a combination of dry ice and sodium chloride to encourage rainfall and improve air quality, State Secretary Minister Prasetyo Hadi announced Tuesday.

The cloud-seeding efforts are currently focused on the provinces of South Sumatra, Central Kalimantan, South Kalimantan, and West Kalimantan. In South Sumatra, authorities have conducted eight flights since October 16, dispersing approximately 1.6 tonnes of salt and 4 tonnes of dry ice. The flights aim to promote cloud formation with dry ice before spreading sodium chloride to induce precipitation.

Officials reported that these interventions have led to rainfall in several districts, contributing to a decrease in PM2.5 particulate matter concentrations and enhanced visibility, indicators of improving air quality.

West Kalimantan has seen the most extensive operations, with 107 cloud-seeding flights carried out since August 22. These flights have dispersed nearly 99 tonnes of salt in an effort to increase rainfall. Meanwhile, Central Kalimantan and South Kalimantan have conducted 48 and 23 flights, respectively. Authorities in these regions estimate that the cloud-seeding efforts have resulted in rainfall amounts of approximately 67.45 million cubic meters in Central Kalimantan and 222.67 million cubic meters in South Kalimantan.

These measures are part of Indonesia’s broader strategy to address the annual haze problem that severely impacts air quality and public health during the dry season, largely due to extensive forest and land fires. Cloud seeding is utilized to artificially stimulate rain clouds to accelerate the dissipation of smoke and particulate matter.