Prime Minister Elijah Ngurare said Namibia could consider reviving cloud-seeding experiments, but any decision would have to be guided by scientific evidence and environmental considerations.

Dr Ngurare was responding to a question from PDM Leader McHenry Venaani about whether Namibia could consider the method as part of its response to drought and the anticipated El Niño conditions.

He said cloud seeding is practised globally and has potential benefits, but it also carries possible negative effects. Namibia would therefore have to determine whether the benefits outweigh the risks before restarting any programme.

"We must ensure that whatever it entails, it delivers more benefits than drawbacks. In accordance with our laws, particularly the Namibia Environmental Management Act (NIMA), we need to assess, based on scientific evidence and the precautionary principle, whether potential negative impacts are significant. If we determine that the risks are considerable, we may decide against it. However, we could contemplate the possibility of resuming those experiments, as was done in the early 1990s."