PAGASA: 'Seedable' clouds not easy to spot

Clouds suitable for seeding operations to ease Metro Manila's water shortage will not be easy to spot, as satellite cameras often misses the right cloud forms, a state weather forecaster said Thursday. Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) forecaster Gener Quitlong said satellite photos of cloud formations are not accurate indicators of right conditions for cloud seeding. "Makikita mo sa satellite ang clouds, pero mas maganda kung naroon ka mismo sa lugar. Yung satellite kasi makikita lang ang high clouds (Satellite photos show you only the high clouds. You cannot see those at the middle level)," Quitlong said in an interview on dzBB radio. According to him, meteorologists taking part in seeding operation should be able to spot clouds that are suitable for seeding. Despite PAGASA's warnings that rains from seeded clouds may not fall on watershed areas such as the Angat Dam, the Bureau of Soils and Water Management and water concessionaires are set to go on cloud-seeding operations. Angat Dam, whose water level has been below critical since the past weeks, supplies most of Metro Manila's water needs. Meanwhile, PAGASA said an intertropical convergence zone (ITCZ) may still bring rains to southern Luzon, the Visayas and Mindanao. — LBG/RSJ, GMANews.TV