BMKG Warns of Rain Potential Next Week Amid Peak Dry Season

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) said that several regions will potentially be hit by moderate rainfall and thunderstorms for the next week. Indonesia is currently experiencing the peak dry season. 

"In the next week, rain potential is up in several regions, especially in the central and eastern areas. These include Aceh, North Sumatra, Riau, Bengkulu, West Kalimantan, Central Kalimantan, North Kalimantan, East Kalimantan, North Maluku, NTT, West Sulawesi, Southeast Sulawesi, Central Sulawesi, South Sulawesi, North Maluku, Papua, West Papua, Papua Pegunungan, West Papua, South Papua, South Papua," said the Deputy for Meteorology, Guswanto quoted from a press release on Friday, July 26, 2024.

Guswanto said the active Rossby Equatorial Wave caused the condition, which prompted raincloud growth. In addition, local-scale warming factors significantly influence the process of lifting air masses from the earth's surface to the atmosphere.

Meanwhile, the Head of the BMKG Public Meteorology Center Andri Ramdhani said, based on monitoring carried out by BMKG, it is known that on a global scale, the IOD, SOI, and Nino 3.4 values are not significant to Indonesia’s increasing rainfall. The Madden-Julian Oscillation (MJO) is in a neutral phase and does not contribute to the formation of rain clouds in several Indonesian regions.

Meanwhile, cyclonic circulation that caused convergence was monitored in the Pacific Ocean north of Papua. Other convergence areas were observed in the waters west of North Sumatra and central Sulawesi. Confluence areas were present in the South China Sea and the Pacific Ocean north of Papua.

Regarding wind speed, Andri continued, an increase of more than 25 knots was observed in the Andaman Sea, the Indian Ocean southwest of Banten, and the Arafura Sea, with potential for high waves. 

Strong local lability that supports convective processes on a local scale is found in East Kalimantan, Central Kalimantan, South Sulawesi, West Sulawesi, NTT, Papua Mountains, Central Papua, and South Papua.

"In general, the combination of these weather phenomena is expected to cause significant weather potential from July 26 to August 1, 2024. Strong winds also have the potential to occur in the regions of Riau, Jambi, South Sumatra, West Kalimantan, Central Kalimantan, South Sulawesi, Maluku, South Papua, Central Papua, and West Papua," he said.

Andri said that although some regions will rain for the next week, BMKG warns of forest fire potential as Indonesia is still in the peak of the dry season. 

IRSYAN HASYIM

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