Malaysia resorts to cloud seeding to save rice crop from drought

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In response to ongoing drought conditions, Malaysia has initiated cloud seeding to alleviate water shortages and support rice cultivation. This weather modification technique is aimed at increasing rainfall in the crucial agricultural areas.

Malaysia is resorting to cloud seeding to bring much-needed rain to the country’s “rice bowl” north, where a drought has delayed planting of the staple crop and raised supply fears. “This year ... has been affected by prolonged dry weather, low rainfall and reduced dam water levels,” said Malaysia’s Minister of Agriculture and Food Security Mohamad Sabu. The conditions mean farmers have missed two of the three usual planting phases for so-called “wet direct seeding” of rice, a technique that...