Drier Drought This Year

KOMPAS/FERGANATA INDRA RIATMOKO

Farm workers plant seeds on Tuesday (25/6/2019) at a peanut farm in Plupuh district, Sragen, Central Java. The seeds were obtained for Rp 22,000 per kilogram from cooperatives. Farm owners in the area have switched from cultivating rice to cultivating peanuts so their farms would still produce crops during the drought.

JAKARTA, KOMPAS — This year\'s drought is predicted to be drier than the climatological norm. Several regions have not seen rain for more than two months, even though they have not reached the peak of the dry season.

About 35 percent of Indonesia is now entering the dry season, while 65 percent is still in the rainy season. The former regions include the northern and eastern coasts of Aceh, the northern areas of North Sumatra, southern Sumatra, Java, Bali, West Nusa Tenggara (NTB), East Nusa Tenggara (NTT), southeast Kalimantan, the western coast of South Sulawesi, the northern coast of North Sulawesi, the coastal areas of Sulawesi Central, some parts of Maluku and southern Papua.

The “Awas” (danger) drought status has been declared in several regions that have not seen rain for more than two consecutive months. These regions include most parts of the Yogyakarta Special Region, Sampang and Malang in East Java, most parts of NTT, Indramayu in West Java, and Buleleng in Bali. The regions that have been declared “Siaga” (caution) for experiencing one month of no rainfall include North Jakarta, Lebak and Tangerang in Banten, NTB, and most parts of Central Java.

KOMPAS/FERGANATA INDRA RIATMOKO

An empty snail shell lies alongside a single weed growing from the cracked earth at the bottom of the Botok Reservoir on Tuesday (25/6/2019) in Kedawung district, Sragen regency, Central Java. The 15-hectare reservoir, built in 1940, has been drying out due to prolonged drought in the area.

"People are urged to beware of impacts from the drought, especially on rainfed agriculture, clean water shortages, and the risk of forest and land fires," Herizal, the climatology deputy chairman of the Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG), said in Jakarta on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, BMKG climate and air quality information head Siswanto said that the drought was growing drier than normal in a number of regions, especially Java, Bali, NTB and NTT.

“Rainfall is below the climatological norm," said Siswanto. He said the drought was expected to worsen until August. It cannot be ascertained whether the drier dry season is a result of El Nino.

According to the data of the BMKG and several international institutions that monitor global climate anomalies, the El Nino phenomenon in the Pacific Ocean remained categorized as “weak”. A weak El Nino usually does not significantly impact local climates.El Nino had a relatively strong impact in 2015, causing an increase in the global average temperature and severe drought in Indonesia. The drier weather was affected by the sea surface temperature in the Indian Ocean, which indicated a positive Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD). During a positive IOD, the waters of the southeastern Indian Ocean are generally cooler than average, while the waters to the west are warmer than average.

KOMPAS/BAHANA PATRIA GUPTA

Widayati, who sells cattle feed, unloads bunches of corn plants from a truck on Tuesday (25/6/2019) in Gendro village, Tutur district, Pasuruan regency, East Java. The price of a single bunch of corn plants has increased from Rp 5,000 to Rp 6,000 at the start of the dry season, and can increase to Rp 10,000 at the height of the dry season.

As a result, cloud formations and rainfall can potentially shift from the eastern to the western Indian Ocean and cause higher rainfall in the eastern part of the African continent. In contrast, drought occurs in the eastern Indian Ocean region, which includes Indonesia. This climatological condition is expected to last until October, November or December.

Cool temperaturesSiswanto said that the Himawari satellite’s infrared imagery for the last few days showed bright and cloudless skies over the southern part of Indonesia, indicating that the Australian monsoon winds had carried dry and cold air masses over the region

As in previous years, this year’s dry season has arrived with cooler temperatures in several regions, especially highland areas.

KOMPAS/FERGANATA INDRA RIATMOKO

Grass and weeds surround shallow pools of water in the Botok Reservoir, which is drying out due to drought, on Tuesday (25/6/2019) in Kedawung district, Sragen regency, Central Java. The 15-hectare reservoir, which was built in 1940, stores water from several rivers that is used to irrigate 2,488 farms in the area.

The BMKG Observation Station’s data on minimum daily temperatures showed that the Tretes region of Malang and Satarcik in Ruteng, Manggarai, NTT had recorded the coldest temperatures, ranging from 11 degrees Celsius to 13 degrees Celsius. (AIK)