Extreme Weather on the Rise
JAKARTA, KOMPAS — The increasing temperature of the earth has affected the environment, leading to extreme weather. The quantity of rainfall has increased in a number of regions.
The temperature of the earth continues to rise and reached the highest point ever recorded. The increase in global temperatures has triggered various environmental changes, one of which is the increasing scale and intensity of extreme weather.
The data released by the World Meteorological Agency (WMO) this week mentions the year 2015, 2016, 2017 and 2018 as the hottest four years ever recorded. The data said the weather in 2018 was 1 degree Celsius hotter than in the 1900s.
"The 20 hottest years have been recorded over the last 22 years. The rate of warming over the past four years has been remarkable, both on land and in the ocean," said secretary-general of WMO Petteri Taalas in the WMO report.
In Indonesia, the increase in temperature is even higher than the global average. A study by the head of Climate Information and Air Quality Production Subdivision of the Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG), Siswanto, on temperatures in Jakarta from 1866 to 2012 shows that the increase in temperature reached 1.6 degrees Celsius.
"Before 1966, the average temperature in Jakarta was actually 0.6 degrees Celsius cooler than global temperatures. However, after that our temperature has tended to be hotter than the global average. This is possibly influenced by local dynamics, such as reduced vegetation and rapid urban growth," Siswanto said in Jakarta on Monday (11/2/2019).
An analysis with a smaller regional scale shows that in several regions, such as Tanjung Priok, the temperature has increased by an average of 0.3 degrees Celsius every 10 years.
Triggering extreme weather
The increase in global temperatures has triggered an increase in extreme weather. No country escapes extreme weather. Entering 2019, the WMO noted extreme weather patterns. Cold temperatures reach -53.9 degrees Celsius in Minnesota, United States, on January 30. According to a report of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, temperatures in 50 states have reached the coldest in the past decades. However, Alaska and parts of Antarctica have warmed up.
South America has been hit by extreme heat. The weather center in the capital city of Santiago recorded the highest heat of 38.3 degrees Celsius on Jan. 26, even the central part of Chile reached 40 degrees Celsius. Southern Argentina also had extreme heat. However, in northern Argentina there was heavy rain.
In Indonesia, the trend of extreme weather has also been on the rise, marked by an increase in the frequency and scale of hydrometeorological disasters. Head of the Center for Data, Information and
Public Relations of the National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) Sutopo Purwo Nugroho said hydrometeorological disasters had killed 105 people in Indonesia from Jan. to Feb. 10.
The rainfall intensity at that time was recorded at more than 300 millimeters per day in a number of locations in South Sulawesi. This rainfall intensity was very high.
A study of BMKG climate researcher, Supari, for his dissertation showed a change in the pattern of rain. In general, areas in the north of the equator tend to get wetter on average, while in the south they tend to be dry. "The island of Java tends to dry up, and this trend could continue, based on the results of climate change modeling," he said.
Siswanto’s study with data over 100 years found that even though annual average rainfall was relatively the same, the frequency of extreme rain increased.
According to Siswanto, heavy rains in a short (1-3 hour) duration in Jakarta have significantly increased statistically. "The medium duration for rain (4-6 hours), and those in long duration (more than 6 hours), also increased, but not by much," he said.
University of Indonesia lecturer in environmental sciences Mahawan Karuniasa, who is also a member of the Paris Committee on Capacity Building, reminded that the complexity of the impact of this increase in temperature is very high. Not only are hydrometeorological disasters increasing, the impact of increasing temperatures and climate change has occurred in the food sector due to droughts or flooding, and can also have an impact on biodiversity, as well as pest problems. (AIK/ISW)