BMKG: Parts Of Indonesia Entering April Dry Season

JAKARTA - The Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) said that some areas in Indonesia will experience a dry season in April 2023.

"The start of the 2023 dry season does not coincide," said BMKG Head Dwikorita Karnawati at a press conference "Predictions for the Start of the 2023 Dry Season and Developments in Weather Conditions in Indonesian Territories" as reported by ANTARA, Monday, March 6.

Out of a total of 699 seasonal zones in Indonesia, as many as 119 seasonal zones, or 17 percent are predicted to enter the dry season in April 2023, covering Nusa Tenggara, Bali, and parts of East Java.

A total of 156 seasonal zones or 22.3 percent of the area will enter the dry season in May 2023, covering parts of Nusa Tenggara, parts of Bali, most of Java, Lampung, parts of South Sumatra, parts of North Sumatra and southern Papua.

A total of 155 seasonal zones or 22.2 percent of the area will enter the dry season in June 2023, covering most of Sumatra, a small part of Java, southern Kalimantan, parts of Sulawesi, parts of Maluku, and parts of Papua.

A total of 113 seasonal zones or 16 percent of other seasonal zones, said Dwikorita, areas that have a rainy or dry season throughout the year.

"So it only has one season. In Indonesia, there is around 16 percent of the season zone," she explained.

She stated that this year's dry season begins with the wind blowing from the Australian Continent which will start from the Nusa Tenggara and Bali regions in April 2023.

"Then it was followed by events in the Java region, then developments occurred in almost all parts of Indonesia in the period from May to August 2023," she said.

The dry season forecast is based on BMKG monitoring results which show the La Nina phenomenon is heading towards neutral in the March 2023 period.

Dwikorita reminded government ministries or agencies, regions, related institutions, and the entire community to be more prepared and anticipatory of the possible impact of a drier dry season.

"So this needs to be anticipated because there is an increased risk of meteorological drought, forest and land fires, and a shortage of clean water," she said.

She asked the local government to be more optimal in harvesting rainwater considering that currently there is still rain.

"Please use this dry season prediction information as a form of early warning," she said.