Research Agency Will Manipulate the Clouds during the Mandalika MotoGP Event

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To prevent the potential for excessive rain during the MotoGP race at the Mandalika Circuit, the National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN) will conduct weather and cloud manipulation.

Budi Harsoyo, the coordinator of the TMC-BRIN management laboratory, confirmed this. He also explained the manipulation mechanism. Later, his party will conduct convective cloud seeding around the Mandalika circuit, West Nusa Tenggara (NTB).

The convective clouds which are predicted to rain in the Mandalika Circuit, said Budi, will be sown using salt in the eastern and southeastern areas of Mandalika.

Thus, he hopes that the rain will not flush the Mandalika area during the MotoGP race.

“We will immediately prepare the execution of cloud seeding to rain the (convective) clouds, long before they reach Mandalika,” Budi said, Thursday (17/3).

Budi said his party was working with the Indonesian Air Force (TNI AU) to sow clouds with salt. The Indonesian Air Force deployed one Casa 212-200 aircraft from Squadron IV Abdulrachman Saleh Air Base, Malang, East Java.

He said the weather manipulation process is carried out from today until March 20. Every day will make 2 to 3 flights, carrying 800 kilograms of salt. According to him, this effort is expected to suppress excessive rainfall at the circuit location.

“The weather cycle is indeed daily, even hourly. So the impact of weather modification is on a daily or hourly scale too, not weekly or even monthly. Weather is different from climate, yes,” he said.

Previously, the Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) estimated that the Mandalika MotoGP event had the potential for moderate to heavy rain.

“The prospect of weather conditions in the Mandalika area for the next three days is dominated by the potential for cloudy to moderate rain,” said BMKG forecaster for the Zainuddin Abdul Madjid Meteorological Station, Lombok, Nur Siti Zulaicha in a written statement in Praya, Thursday (17/3).

On March 18, it is estimated that there is the potential for moderate to heavy rain which can be accompanied by lightning and strong winds in the Mandalika area during the afternoon and evening. Furthermore, on March 19, it is expected to be cloudy to moderate rain in the afternoon until the afternoon.

“On March 20, moderate to heavy rain is expected in the afternoon and into the evening,” She said.

For this reason, BMKG also urges residents to be aware of the potential for moderate to heavy rain which can be accompanied by lightning and strong winds in parts of Mataram City, West Lombok Regency, Central Lombok, North Lombok, East Lombok, West Sumbawa, Sumbawa, Bima, Bima City, and Dompu.

The BMKG also appealed to residents to be aware of high waves reaching 2 meters or more in the northern and southern parts of the Lombok Strait, the Alas Strait, the Indian Ocean south of West Nusa Tenggara, and the southern part of the Sape Strait.