Indonesia Can't Make Rain Because Drought Wiped Out the Clouds

Indonesia gave up on cloud-seeding — spraying salt into clouds to make rain — in August 2026 because the drought left no rain clouds to work with. The El Niño weather pattern, which brings dry, hot conditions, has dried everything out. Now firefighters can only drop water from above and battle blazes on the ground. Almost 50,000 personnel are fighting fires across five provinces. El Niño is expected to last through early 2027, with fire danger worst in August and September.