October 31, 2023
JAKARTA – As Indonesia transitions from the dry season to the rainy season, Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) head Dwikorita Karnawati issued a warning to the public about the potential for extreme weather.
During a webinar organized by the Bandung Institute of Technology (ITB) on Saturday, Dwikorita emphasized that the transitional season comes with a significant potential for extreme weather, including heavy rain, lightning, strong winds and hail.
She further explained that the direction of the wind varies significantly, leading to sudden shifts in weather conditions, switching from periods of heat to rain, and vice versa.
Typically, the morning tends to be sunny, with rain arriving in the afternoon or evening.
These weather changes are often attributed to cumulonimbus clouds, which usually form in the morning and darken in the afternoon, triggering rain, lightning and strong winds.
The BMKG’s predictions suggest that the rainy season will span from October to December, covering 477 seasonal zones (ZOM), or approximately 68.2 percent of all zones in the country.
Furthermore, the BMKG expects the peak of the rainy season in January-February 2024.
There are 446 ZOMs in Indonesia (about 64 percent) that anticipate a late rainy season in 2023/2024. At the same time, 56 ZOMs (about 8 percent) should experience the start of the rainy season at its typical onset, and 22 ZOMs (around 3 percent) may encounter an earlier rainy season.
At present, the rainy season has already started in 50 ZOMs, with 12 ZOMs experiencing the rainy season throughout 2023 and 113 ZOMs experiencing a type 1 season, or all-year rainy season, throughout the year.
BMKG’s projections suggest that rain in 2023/2024 will be normal in 566 ZOMs, above normal in 69 ZOMs and below normal in 64 ZOMs.
Dwikorita underscored that rainfall can serve as a trigger for hydrometeorological disasters such as flash floods and landslides. She urged residents in hilly areas prone to landslides to remain vigilant and take necessary precautions.
Therefore, she called upon the central government, regional and local administrations and related institutions to implement mitigation measures against potential hydrometeorological disasters during the rainy season, particularly in areas expecting above-normal rainy season conditions.
Dwikorita also expects the government to educate the public thoroughly on how to handle disaster risks during the rainy season and the importance of heeding early warnings.
Local administrations and related sectors are likewise expected to use the 2023/2024 forecast as a reference for developing early action plans aimed at minimizing the impacts of hydrometeorological disasters.