JAKARTA, May 13 (Xinhua) -- Indonesia has prepared strides to offset major risks of forthcoming drought which is forecast to be dryer than normal time.
Among the major impacts of the unusual weather phenomenon are the potential of forest and bushfires in areas vulnerable to such a disaster on Sumatra Island and Kalimantan Island, and disruption of cultivation of plants including oil palm and rice, officials said.
In countering regular forest and bush fires, artificial rains would be created to prevent hot spots from emerging on peatlands and keep soils wet, according to them.
The operation to create artificial rains would kick off in the provinces of Riau and Jambi on Sumatra Island, Head of the Agency for the Assessment and Application of Technology John Arifian said on Wednesday.
Dozens of tons of salts will be poured onto clouds with high water content above the two provinces, he said.
"The operation will take 30 days, 15 days in South Sumatra and the rest in Jambi," the official told an online press conference here.
Meanwhile, the Environment and Forestry Ministry's Director-General for the Climate Change Ruandha Agung Sugardiman said the move would be persistently carried out in some provinces on Kalimantan Island.
The Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency forecasts this year's drought would be dryer than those previously happened and it was expected to peak from June to August.
Forest and bush fires have regularly stricken Sumatra Island and Kalimantan Island, sending thick smokes to some neighboring ASEAN nations, as well as triggering health problems and a huge economic loss.
Another potential risk of the dryer drought is the disruption of food supplies as it may disturb plantations and paddy cultivation, making President Joko Widodo order authorities to anticipate such risks and ensure that food supplies for over 260 million people in the country is undisturbed. Enditem
