Drier Drought, Increased Risk of Forest Fires

KOMPAS/P RADITYA MAHENDRA YASA

A seedling grows in the cracked, dry soil at a farm on Thursday (4/7/2019) in Sumberejo village of Mranggen district, Demak regency, Central Java. Farmers dig the land to access underground water when irrigation canals dry up and switch to cultivating secondary crops and tobacco during the dry season.

JAKARTA, KOMPAS — This year\'s dry season has been drier compared to previous years, increasing the risk of drought and forest fires across the country. Several regions are experiencing severe drought, even though the dry season has not yet peaked.

According to the Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG), drought has hit several regions of Java and southern Madura.

The BMKG has forecast prolonged to extreme drought in most of Java, Bali, West Nusa Tenggara (NTB) and East Nusa Tenggara (NTT).

Several of these areas have been placed on alert for drought, as they have not had any rain for more than two months and no rain is forecast for the next 10 days.

"Data collected at the end of June indicate that the dry season is drier than last year, but not as dry as in 2015," BMKG climate and air quality information head Siswanto said on Thursday in Jakarta.

KOMPAS/P RADITYA MAHENDRA YASA

A farmer draws water from a well on Thursday (4/7/2019) in Sumberejo village of Mranggen district, Demak regency, Central Java. The farmers dig temporary wells to gain access to underground water when irrigation canals dry up.

Alert

The dry season has arrived in 37 percent of the country, while the other 63 percent are still in the rainy season. The regions that have entered the dry season include North Aceh, Riau, Jambi, South Sumatra, Bengkulu, Bangka Belitung, Lampung, Java, Bali, NTB, NTT, southern South Sulawesi, West Kalimantan, South Kalimantan, southern East Kalimantan, Maluku and southern Papua.

"People are urged to be vigilant and beware of drought, which can affect rain-fed agriculture, reduce ground water and [increase the risk of] forest fires," said BMKG climatology deputy Herizal.

Forest fires have erupted in several areas of Sumatra and Kalimantan. The dry, hot weather has made firefighting more difficult. In Aceh, for example, the forest fires have razed at least 39.5 hectares of land, some of which were peatland that had been planted with oil palms.

The data and information head of the BMKG’s Blang Bintang Meteorology Station, Zakaria Ahmad, said that strong winds also helped spread the fires. The forest fires in Central Kalimantan had also begun to spread.

Forest fires have razed 10 hectares in the villages of Taruna and Tumbang Nusa in Central Kalimantan’s Pulang Pisau regency. Firefighters needed four days to bring the fire under control. Data from the Central Kalimantan disaster management center shows that at least 64 fires have occurred since January the province.

KOMPAS/DIONISIUS REYNALDO TRIWIBOWO

A firefighter of the Manggala Agni Kapuas Operations Area 2 puts out a fire on Thursday (4/7/2019) in the villages of Taruna and Tumbang Nusa in Pulang Pisau regency, Central Kalimantan. It took four days to extinguish the fire, which gutted 10 hectares.

The fires engulfed 112.4 hectares of forests and farmland. In Sungai Segajah Jaya village of Rokan Hilir, Riau, fires razed 60 hectares of land. In Jambi, fires destroyed more than 45 hectares of land, 77 percent of which were local plantations, and the rest were forested land.

The risk of forest fires had increased, especially in the districts of Merangin and Batanghari. "The [two] areas have not seen any rain for 21-30 days," said Kurnianingsih, the data and information head at BMKG Sultan Thaha-Jambi.

The National Disaster Management Agency is focusing on measures to anticipate fires in the six provinces of Riau, Jambi, South Sumatra, West Kalimantan, Central Kalimantan and South Kalimantan, which have large swathes of peatland. (AIK/IDO/AIN/SAH/ITA/FRD)