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The Star
24-05-2025
- Climate
- The Star
Rain still pours across Indonesia with ‘wet dry season' expected until June
JAKARTA: While Indonesia typically starts entering the dry season around April, heavy rainfall has continued in most parts of the country in the past few weeks, with the 'wet dry season' expected to last until early June. Earlier this year, the Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) forecasted that Indonesia would see a normal dry season that would start in most areas in April and was expected to reach its peak between June and August. A normal dry season occurs when there is not a dominant El Niño weather pattern. El Niño tends to bring drier air to the archipelago, resulting in a prolonged dry season. But in its latest reports, the weather agency forecasted that the dry season would start later in some areas. It will also be shorter in most regions. In a forecast report issued on Thursday, BMKG recorded that 73 percent of the archipelago is still experiencing a wet season, which usually falls from October to April. Most regions see clear weather between morning and early afternoon, followed by thunderstorms that last until the evening. 'The weather dynamics in most parts of Indonesia show a transitional period between the rainy and dry season, which is locally known as pancaroba,' the agency wrote. The wetter start of the dry season could be attributed to some atmospheric phenomena, such as Madden-Julian Oscillation (MJO), a moving pulse of wind, cloud and atmospheric pressure that brings extra water vapor to form clouds in the sky. The MJO contributes to the formation of rain clouds and triggers more rain, particularly in the southern and central parts of the country, according to BMKG head Dwikorita Karnawati. The Indonesian archipelago's location near the equator allows the country to be exposed to regular amounts of sunlight, leading to a greater chance of precipitation. 'In general, rain intensity is expected to start decreasing by the end of May until early June,' Dwikorita said. Anomalous, yet normal The shift between the rainy and dry season in Indonesia is mostly influenced by the monsoons, a seasonal prevailing wind that lasts for several months. When the wind blows from Asia to Indonesia, it brings moist air from the South China Sea, triggering the rainy season in the country from October and March. But when the other monsoon blows from April to November, the wind is dry as it passes through the desert areas in the northern part of Australia. This monsoon results in decreased rainfall in Indonesia, triggering a dry season across the archipelago. In May this year, Indonesia is experiencing stronger Asian monsoon winds compared to the average of the last two decades, said meteorologist Deni Septiadi from the State College of Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics (STMKG). The strong monsoon winds from Asia, he added, are disrupting the timing and strength of their counterpart that blows from Australia. Deni said the phenomenon could be attributed to several factors: 'One of them could be the heavily concentrated rain clouds over Indonesia. At the same time, the Asian monsoon is still blowing strong.' Despite the late start of the dry season, BMKG meteorology deputy Guswanto said that the condition is still considered normal as the country is in the pancaroba phase, which usually features high humidity and increasing sea temperatures that can fuel the formation of rain clouds. 'Now we're still in the pancaroba phase, which means that the wet dry season may be observable in several areas where rain still falls,' Guswanto said. Pancaroba can occur twice a year for three months each during the transition from the dry to wet season and vice versa. Based on the current timing, the dry season will fall in most parts of the country from June to August, followed by pancaroba in September and then a wet season from December, according to Guswanto. Personnel of a joint search and rescue team break down a house buried in a landslide triggered by torrential rains in Trenggalek, East Java on Thursday, the third day of a search and rescue operation to locate six missing people. - Photo: Antara Disaster warning Guswanto said that a silver lining to the wetter start of the dry season is that the weather can help boost crop output. Meanwhile, Dwikorita urged the public to stay alert about the possibility of heavy rain that can trigger disasters, even as rain intensity is expected to decrease. Heavy rain in Jakarta on Wednesday inundated at least two neighborhood units (RT) and four major roads, causing heavy traffic that lasted until late at night. High rain intensity also triggered a flood in South Barito regency in Central Kalimantan early Thursday morning, affecting nearly 7,000 people and inundating more than 1,300 houses and public buildings. Torrential rain also triggered landslides in Trenggalek, East Java and Mimika, Central Papua, with dozens of people trapped and missing in both locations. BMKG warned that thunderstorms and strong winds can still occur in several regions, such as across Java Island, North Sumatra, Central Kalimantan, Maluku and South Papua. - The Jakarta Post/ANN
Al Etihad
23-05-2025
- Climate
- Al Etihad
6.3-magnitude earthquake jolts Indonesia's Sumatra island
Jakarta (dpa) A 6.3-magnitude earthquake jolted Indonesia's island of Sumatra on Friday, the country's Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) said. The BMKG estimated the depth of the quake at about 10 kilometres. It struck at about 3 am (2000 GMT Thursday). The German Research Centre for Geosciences measured the magnitude of the quake at 5.8. The quake did not pose a tsunami risk, authorities said. There were no immediate reports of injuries. Indonesia sits on a tectonic zone with intense seismic and volcanic activity known as the Pacific Ring of Fire.
The Star
19-05-2025
- Climate
- The Star
Dry season ignites wildfire fears
With some regions already seeing their land engulfed by wildfires, the government is intensifying efforts to mitigate the risk of forest and land fires as the country is expected to shift to the dry season in the coming weeks. The Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) recently forecasted that most regions across the country will enter the dry season between April and June, with its peak expected to fall in August, exacerbating the risk of wildfire. As the nation transitions to the dry season, the Forestry Ministry has recorded 163 wildfire incidents in several provinces that burned more than 3,200ha of land and forest, totalling an area the size as Macau, within the first five months of the year according to data from the ministry's official wildfire monitoring platform SiPongi. Authorities have been using satellite imagery to monitor hotspots, or areas recorded as having higher temperatures compared to their surroundings. While hotspots are not necessarily wildfires, they may be indications of a potential fire, thus detecting them may help authorities in preventing forest and land fires. As of May 14, the ministry recorded at least 195 hotspots detected nationwide since the beginning of the year, according to Thomas Nifinluri, the forest and land fire control director at the Forestry Ministry. '(The ministry) is checking the hotspots on the ground for verification,' Thomas said. With the dry season approaching, he added that the ministry has been pushing several prevention measures, including joint patrols with military and police officers and regular fire monitoring. The number of detected hotspots so far is lower than compared with last year. But the lower number should not be a reason to be complacent, said Environment Minister Hanif Faisol Nurofiq. 'Despite the decline, we must not be off guard. We have to be proactive, strengthening our early warning system and responding quicker to any signs of danger,' Hanif said last week, as quoted in a statement issued by the Environment Ministry. Other measures launched by the government to mitigate and prevent forest and land fires included launching a wildfire management desk in March. The desk would become a forum where various ministries and state institutions coordinate in anticipating forest fires during the upcoming dry season. The wildfire desk has put its attention on seven provinces deemed prone to wildfires, namely Riau, South Sumatra, Jambi, South Kalimantan, West Kalimantan, East Kalimantan and Central Kalimantan. Recorded as having the largest areas of burned lands during the fire season each year, these provinces are also home to large areas of peatland. The ecosystem is often dried to be converted into various plantations, including oil palm. Hanif, whose ministry is part of the wildfire desk, urged companies under the Indonesian Oil Palm Association (Gapki) to push for more forest and land fire prevention measures to help the government achieve its zero wildfire target by this year. President Prabowo Subianto reportedly set the target of zero forest and land fires this year when pushing for the establishment of the wildfire desk, which is placed under the Office of the Coordinating Politics and Security Minister. The government set the target after acknowledging the geopolitical cost of forest and land fires. The weather agency has been working with the National Disaster Mitigation Agency to launch a week-long cloud seeding operation since early May to prevent fires in Riau from prolonging. But hotspots and fires were still detected, forcing the regional administration to declare a state of emergency for fire hazards. Other provinces, such as Aceh and East Nusa Tenggara, are also working to prevent forest and land fires, after both provinces suffered from wildfires last year. In 2024, Indonesia saw 376,000ha burned by wildfires, an area the size of almost six Jakartas. The figure, however, was a 67% decrease compared with the previous year. — The Jakarta Post/ANN
The Star
18-05-2025
- Climate
- The Star
Indonesia braces for forest, land fires ahead of dry season
JAKARTA: With some regions already seeing their land engulfed by wildfires, the government is intensifying efforts to mitigate the risk of forest and land fires as the country is expected to shift to the dry season in the coming weeks. The Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) recently forecasted that most regions across the country will enter the dry season between April and June, with its peak expected to fall in August, exacerbating the risk of wildfire. As the nation transitions to the dry season, the Forestry Ministry has recorded 163 wildfire incidents in several provinces that burned more than 3,200 hectares (ha) of land and forest, totalling an area the size as Macao, within the first five months of the year according to data from the ministry's official wildfire monitoring platform SiPongi. Authorities have been using satellite imagery to monitor hotspots, or areas recorded as having higher temperatures compared to their surroundings. While hotspots are not necessarily wildfires, they may be indications of a potential fire, thus detecting them may help authorities in preventing forest and land fires. As of Wednesday (May 14), the ministry recorded at least 195 hotspots detected nationwide since the beginning of the year, according to Thomas Nifinluri, the forest and land fire control director at the Forestry Ministry. '[The ministry] is checking the hotspots on the ground for verification,' Thomas told The Jakarta Post. With the dry season approaching, he added that the ministry has been pushing several prevention measures, including joint patrols with military and police officers and regular fire monitoring. No complacency The number of detected hotspots so far is lower than compared with last year. But the lower number should not be a reason to be complacent, said Environment Minister Hanif Faisol Nurofiq. 'Despite the decline, we must not be off guard. We have to be proactive, strengthening our early warning system and responding quicker to any signs of danger,' Hanif said last week, as quoted in a statement issued by the Environment Ministry. Other measures launched by the government to mitigate and prevent forest and land fires included launching a wildfire management desk in March. The desk would become a forum where various ministries and state institutions coordinate in anticipating forest fires during the upcoming dry season. The wildfire desk has put its attention on seven provinces deemed prone to wildfires, namely Riau, South Sumatra, Jambi, South Kalimantan, West Kalimantan, East Kalimantan and Central Kalimantan. Recorded as having the largest areas of burned lands during the fire season each year, these provinces are also home to large areas of peatland. The ecosystem is often dried to be converted into various plantations, including oil palm. Hanif, whose ministry is part of the wildfire desk, urged companies under the Indonesian Oil Palm Association (Gapki) to push for more forest and land fire prevention measures to help the government achieve its zero wildfire target by this year. President Prabowo Subianto reportedly set the target of zero forest and land fires this year when pushing for the establishment of the wildfire desk, which is placed under the Office of the Coordinating Politics and Security Minister. The government set the target after acknowledging the geopolitical cost of forest and land fires. In the past, Indonesia had been blamed by Malaysia, Singapore and other Southeast Asian countries for the transboundary haze from the massive wildfires burning in Sumatra and Kalimantan in 2015, 2019 and 2023. The fires in the three years were larger compared to the usual years due to El Niño climactic phenomenon, which tends to bring hotter and drier air to the Indonesian archipelago. Prevention first Despite the target, several regions put under the government's special attention have been experiencing forest and land fires since the start of the year. Riau is among the worst, with almost 700 ha, a total area the size of 980 soccer pitches, burned since January, many of which were peatlands. The figure accounts for around 21 percent of the total burned land across the archipelago. 'Even without being deliberately burned, peatlands can still potentially be engulfed in flames due to strong winds, with more damage observed during the dry season. Mitigation efforts must be carried out even before the fire appears,' BMKG head Dwikorita Karnawati said. The weather agency has been working with the National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) to launch a week-long cloud seeding operation since early May to prevent fires in Riau from prolonging. But hotspots and fires were still detected, forcing the regional administration to declare a state of emergency for fire hazards. Other provinces, such as Aceh and East Nusa Tenggara, are also working to prevent forest and land fires, after both provinces suffered from wildfires last year. In 2024, Indonesia saw 376,000 ha burned by wildfires, an area the size of almost six Jakartas. The figure, however, was a 67 percent decrease compared with the previous year. - The Jakarta Post/ANN
United News of India
15-05-2025
- Climate
- United News of India
5.9-magnitude earthquake hits off eastern Indonesia, no tsunami alert issued
Jakarta, May 15 (UNI) An earthquake measuring 5.9 on the Richter scale jolted off Indonesia's eastern Maluku province on Thursday morning, without triggering large waves, the country's Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency said. The tremors occurred at 07:50 a.m. Jakarta time (0050 GMT) with the quake epicenter situated 189 km southwest of Maluku Barat Daya Regency and at a depth of 515 km beneath the seabed. The intensity of the tremors was measured at III MMI (Modified Mercalli Intensity) in Tiakur, the regency's capital city. No tsunami warning was issued as the tremors would not potentially generate large waves. Indonesia, an archipelago, is highly earthquake-prone due to its position within the seismically active "Pacific Ring of Fire." UNI XINHUA ARN
