REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA -- The hot weather experienced in some areas of Indonesia has caused parks and other places to suffer from drought. It was recognized by the Head of the Meteorological, Climatology and Geophysical Agency (BMKG) Dwikorita Karnawati.

According to her, early warnings of dry conditions such as are currently announced to the public, even predicted since February 2023. It is predicted that Indonesia will experience dryness from July 2023 to the end of October 2023, and rain will occur around November 2023 in most parts of Indonesia.

“This matches the prediction of BMKG,” she said when contacted by Republika.co.id, Monday (16/10/2023).

She said the dry season this time was affected by winds coming from Australia. But this time its drought was accompanied by anomalies.

“Usually, it is affected by winds from dry Australia. But now it is atypical, there is an anomaly because it is influenced by a climate anomaly called El Nino, a result of an anomaly of sea-surface temperature rise in the eastern equatorial Pacific Ocean,” she said.

Not only that, there is a second nomenclature, namely climate anomalies due to the temperature of the sea surface in the western equatorial Indian Ocean, which is also hotter. “So these clouds form more in the Pacific Ocean and in the Indian Ocean. So we lack clouds, we are 'poor' clouds,” she said.

According to her, the rain clouds are absent or minimal in the equator and in the southern part of Indonesia. For example, South Sumatra, Jambi, Lampung, Java, Central Kalimantan and South Kalimantan.

“We lack clouds, as a result of which direct sunlight shines on the earth without any cloud barrier. If there is a cloud the solar irradiation does not go directly to the earth,” she said.

In addition, Dwikorita said that at this time the pseudo-motion of the sun is also south of the equator, more or less over the southern Indonesian region, so the sun is even more intense because it is perfectly positioned in the southern Indonesian region and there are no clouds. “So we currently who are in the southern Indonesian Region are directly exposed to sunlight,” she said.

The influence of El Nino, the Indian Ocean Positive Dipole, and the apparent motion of the sun make temperatures relatively hotter and droughts occur everywhere. The drought is caused by the rain that never comes.

“The rain is not there because the clouds have formed a lot in the Pacific and Indian Oceans. We empty the cloud,” she said.

BMKG has conveyed to various parties including local governments and ministries regarding this potential drought since February 2023. “The drought has been foreseen and happened right,” she said.

Therefore, some preparations have already been made since February 2023 to this day. “We do artificial rain to wet dry land because it's known before it's no surprise,” she said.

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