Philippine Air Force gets go signal to start cloud seeding ops

BAKED AND BARREN All that toil came to naught for a farmer whose rice field in San Ildefonso, Bulacan province, has been reduced to a drought-scarred landscape. —RICHARD A. REYES

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine Air Force has been given the green light to start cloud seeding operations to address the El Niño phenomenon.

Air Force Spokesperson Maj. Aristides Galang on Thursday said cloud seeding operations would likely start this weekend in Cauayan, Isabela, after it has been approved by the Department of Agriculture (DA).

The Nomad aircraft will be fitted with cloud-seeding equipment at the 220th Airlift Wing in Buenito Air Base in Cebu City while operations will be carried out by the 900th Air Force Weather Group.

Galang said priority areas for the operations would be identified by DA.

A total of P18.3 million has been released by the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) to DA regional offices for cloud seeding procedures. Based on assessments, the operations are recommended for Regions 2 and 12 between March 14 and May 21.

“The DA conducted field validation to assess the damages and losses, and continues to monitor standing crops in areas at risk,” NDRRMC said. /kga