Jokowi Urges BMKG to Identify Risks of Climate Change
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8 August 2022 13:21 WIB
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo urged the Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) to thoroughly identify the risks and impacts of climate change as the challenges are mounting.
“Any adaptations can be made, [such as] increase the capacity of human resources and equipment for weather and climate modeling that combines information from satellite technology,” said the President at the agency’s national coordination meeting on Monday, August 8, 2022.
He also asked the agency to strengthen information and literacy services, especially in the agriculture and fisheries areas so that farmers and fishermen could anticipate extreme weather.
Based on the World Meteorological Organization data, he stated that climate change and its impacts in 2021 were getting worse. The past seven years, he added, were the hottest seven years on record.
“This condition is a real challenge for us. Mitigating climate change has become a priority issue and global challenge after COVID-19 subsides,” Jokowi remarked.
The impact of climate change, he went on, is very broad and multi-sectoral including natural disasters and food security. FAO stated that more than 500 million small-scale farmers who produce more than 80 percent of the global food sources are the most vulnerable group to climate change.
WHO also forecasted that 13 million people could possibly starve due to the blockage of global supply chains due to the Russia-Ukraine war. “Be careful, this is a very serious problem. it needs comprehensive handling. It is necessary to anticipate this as early as possible, as quickly as possible, and as well as possible,” he underlined.
Thus, Jokowi said Indonesia needs to have proven and tough policies and systems to ensure food security in an equitable and sustainable manner. “BMKG has a very strategic role to make it happen, especially related to monitoring predictions and early warnings of extreme weather and climates,” he said.
FAJAR PEBRIANTO
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