Dry Season Triggers Drought Alert In NTB, 5 Affected Districts

MATARAM - The Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) reported that five districts in West Nusa Tenggara (NTB) are currently entering a drought alert status due to the impact of the dry season.

"The entire NTB area is already in the dry season period. The public needs to be aware of the potential for drought hydrometeorological disasters and forest and land fires," said BMKG forecaster for NTB Climatology Station Afriyas Ulfah as reported by Antara, Monday, August 4.

A total of five areas are Dompu Regency which includes Kilo and Pajo Districts; Bima districts include Lambitu, Lambu, Sape, Soromandi, East Lombok Regency covering the Sambelia District area.

The drought alert status also occurred in Sumbawa Regency which includes Labuhan Badas, North Moyo, Rhee, Sumbawa; and Sumbawa Regency which includes Jereleh District.

Afriyas revealed that the drought that hit was the result of successive dry days some time earlier. The results of monitoring days without successive rain in West Nusa Tenggara in general are very short ranging from 1-5 days without rain to 21-30 days without rain.

However, there are also areas that experience days without rain with a very long category of 31-60 days without rain. Rhee Rain Post located in Sumbawa Regency recorded a total of 51 days without rain.

Afriyas further said that the potential for rain in the first basis of August 2025 from August 1 to 10 is relatively small with an intensity of more than 20 millimeters per basis occurring in less than 10% throughout West Nusa Tenggara.

"People should be able to take advantage of rain that falls to fill water reservoirs such as reservoirs, reservoirs, or other rainwater reservoirs," said Afriyas.

BMKG revealed that the Dipol Samudra Hindia or IOD when the last basis showed the IOD was at index minus 0.38. The neutral IOD phase is predicted to last until the second half of 2025.

Meanwhile, the sea surface temperature anomaly in Nino3.4 shows an index of minus 0.12. This condition indicates that ENSO is neutral and is predicted to remain neutral until the second half of 2025.