TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - East Nusa Tenggara (NTT) got hit the hardest by drought, said the Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) spokesperson Widada Sulistya. He added that this year has seen worse drought compared to the previous year, adding that some regions in Indonesia have not seen rain for over 60 days.
“It means that drought in the regions was caused by the lack of rain. Speaking of rain, rainy season in the regions is expected to start around October-November so that drought will hopefully end in November,” Widada said in Jakarta on September 12.
A number of regions have experienced severe drought, namely West Java, Central Java, East Java, Bali, West Nusa Tenggara and East Nusa Tenggara.
NTT has been hit the hardest by drought, the spokesperson said. “NTT has not seen rain for 100 days…” he said. As such, he predicts that the region will see equally distributed rain around the end of November or early December.
As for Java, Widada said that rain will start to fall in early November. “Particularly West Java, it may see rain earlier than NTT,” he said.
President Joko Widodo has instructed relevant ministries and agencies to take steps to address drought in regions across Indonesia.
ANTARA