BMKG Warns of Extreme Weather in Parts of Indonesia as Regions Enter Dry Season

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) announced that some parts of Indonesia have entered the dry season and will potentially experience drought until at least the end of September.

However, BMKG recorded a downpour in several regions in Indonesia over the past 24 hours. These regions are Semarang (104.4 millimeters), Sambas (103.0 mm), Sarmi (94.0 mm), Ambon (69.9 mm), Toli-Toli (61.1 mm), Silangit (57.3 mm), and Tanjung Pinang (50.8 mm). The weather agency also warned about the rain potential in Jakarta for the past few days. 

This condition occurs due to several atmospheric dynamic factors, including the active equatorial waves of Rossby and Kelvin in western parts of Java which increase the growth of rain clouds, and the high atmospheric lability.

Deputy for Meteorology, Guswanto stated that several regions in Indonesia are still in the transition season between the rainy and dry seasons. These regions still have the chance for rain in the next week, due to the active Madden Julian Oscillation (MJO) phenomenon, equatorial Rossby and Kelvin waves, and the presence of cyclonic circulation.

"The combination of these phenomena is expected to increase the medium to heavy rain potential with lightning and strong winds in several parts of Indonesia which lasts until June 9, 2024,” said Guswanto, quoted by Tempo in a written statement, Monday, June 3, 2024.

Meanwhile, the Head of the Public Meteorology Center Andri Ramdhani added that the rain potential could occur in parts of Sumatra, parts of western Java, most of Kalimantan, most of Sulawesi, North Maluku, Maluku, and most of Papua.

Andri urged the public, especially those living in areas vulnerable to hydrometeorological disasters to remain vigilant to the potential for extreme weather events. Those include floods, flash floods, rain lava floods, landslides, slippery roads, fallen trees, and reduced visibility.

Andri also asked the public to avoid hoaxes and obtain weather updates through official BMKG Info channels.

IRSYAN HASYIM

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