GEORGE TOWN, April 17 – The Penang State Government has written to the National Disaster Management Agency (NADMA) seeking urgent assistance for cloud seeding operations to be carried out over dam water catchment areas in Penang. In a discussion on 29.3.2023 and an official letter dated 30.3.2023, the State Secretary’s Office had informed the Operations Implementation Division of NADMA of the following:
Due to climate change, low rainfall was recorded in the water catchment areas of the Air Itam Dam and the Teluk Bahang Dam (on Penang Island). The effective capacities of these two dams have been projected to drop further, towards critical levels, if the current dry season extends to August 2023. This has caused the effective capacities of the dams to drop significantly as chart below
| DAM EFFECTIVE CAPACITY | 1.1.2023 | 13.4.2023 |
| AIR ITAM DAM | 82.5% | 49.5 |
| TELUK BAHANG DAM | 64.0% | 50.7 |
The Penang State Government has approved a RM400,000 allocation for the implementation of cloud seeding operations over the water catchment areas of the two dams. The State Secretary’s Office has referred to the Meteorological Department on the latest status of qualified companies that may carry out cloud seeding operations. However, there are no companies that can meet the criteria and conditions set by the Civil Aviation Authority of Malaysia (CAAM).
As such, the Penang State Government has no choice but to seek the kind assistance of NADMA to intervene and facilitate the implementation of cloud seeding operations as soon as possible. We hope that NADMA will prioritise the fulfillment of Penang’s request because cloud seeding operations are needed as soon as possible to induce rainfall that will refill the Air Itam Dam and Teluk Bahang Dam.
Penang must avoid a potential water supply crisis that may cause undue suffering for 1.74 million people and disrupt all the socioeconomic activities that had contributed RM99 billion to the national GDP in 2021.
