BANGKOK – Thailand plans to deploy 30 aircraft nationwide for cloud-seeding operations to induce artificial rain to battle air pollution and ease dry weather conditions in the main crop-growing areas. 

The South-east Asian country kicked off its so-called annual royal rain-making programme on Feb 29.

It set up seven centres across the country’s 77 provinces for operations in March and April, the government said in a statement.

The operations in 2024 will rely on 24 aircraft from the Royal Rain-making Department and six jets from the Royal Thai Air Force, the government statement said. 

Rain-making is necessary to ease the impact of climate change on Thailand’s agricultural sector and prevent hailstorm and forest fires in some regions of the country, Agriculture Minister said Thamanat Prompow.

The artificial rain will also ease persistent pollution problems such as smog and unhealthy levels of fine particulate matter known as PM2.5, he added.

The operations will also replenish water supply in reservoirs and dams in the country, which can be used for farming in irrigated areas.

Thailand’s summer season began on Feb 21 and will last until mid-May, according to the state weather forecaster.

Thailand faces a harsh summer in 2024, with the temperature forecast to rise as high as 44.5 deg C in some parts of the country, the weather agency said last week.

A combination of humidity, wind and other factors in 2023 pushed the heat index to a record of over 50 deg C in parts of the country, pushing electricity demand to the highest level ever.

Bangkok, Chiang Mai and other Thai cities have grappled with poor air quality in recent years.

Pollution has tended to get worse in the dry season starting around December due largely to agricultural burning, forest fires in neighbouring countries and vehicular emission. BLOOMBERG