MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine air Force (PAF) had a successful cloud seeding operation over parts of Northern Luzon over the weekend in a bid to stem the effects of El Niño there.
A PAF’ Piper Navajo aircraft scattered sodium chloride on cloud formations 4,500 feet above the ground on targeted areas, according to Rose Mary Aquino, officer-in-charge of the Department of Agriculture – Cagayan Valley regional office.
Sky and cloud spotters stationed in Iguig, Enrile, and Tuguegarao City, in Cagayan; Sto Tomas, Sta. Maria, Ilagan, Benito Soliven in Isabela and Villaros and Bagabag in Nueva Vizcaya province reported rainfall in the area on Feb. 25.
“This can cushion the initial impact of El Nino,” Aquino said in a statement.
“Crops really need the precipitation and the cooling effect of the rain.”
Aquino said the cloud seeding operations began in the area on Feb 24, while clouds appeared only the day after.
Cloud seeding is a weather modification technique that improves a cloud’s ability to produce rain by introducing tiny nuclei — sodium chloride in this case — into certain types of subfreezing low clouds, providing a base for the rains.
The country is still under the effects of El Niño or the weather phenomenon which increases the prospect of below-normal rainfall conditions that could bring negative impacts such as “dry spells” or droughts in some parts of the country until the first quarter of 2024, according to state meteorologists.
As of Tuesday, the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council said agricultural damage due to El Niño stands at P810,711,612.