Minister of Home Affairs asks regional heads to anticipate the impact of El Nino

JAKARTA - Minister of Home Affairs (Mendagri) Tito Karnavian asked all regional heads to immediately take steps to anticipate the potential impact of El Nino which is estimated to occur from July to October 2026.

"I ask all regional heads to hold internal meetings. There is BPBD, the agriculture service, the irrigation service, all of them are gathered to anticipate the impact at the provincial, district, and city levels," said Tito as reported by ANTARA, Monday, June 29.

Tito explained that the El Nino phenomenon has the potential to cause forest and land fires, as well as water shortages in a number of regions.

The Minister of Home Affairs said that the central government had collected data from the Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysics Agency (BMKG), the National Disaster Management Agency (BNPB), the Ministry of Agriculture, the Directorate General of Water Resources of the Ministry of Public Works, as well as related ministries and agencies as a basis for preparing mitigation measures in the region.

He also encouraged the governors to coordinate with the regent and mayor through meetings and virtual meetings so that all regions have the same readiness based on data and predictions that the government has submitted.

In addition, regional heads are asked to strengthen coordination with the Regional Leadership Coordination Forum (Forkopimda), TNI, Polri, vertical agencies, river basin offices, agricultural assistants, and fire departments to anticipate the potential for drought and forest and land fires.

Tito revealed that the central government had also prepared a number of mitigation steps in anticipation of the impact of El Nino.

"Solutions have also been prepared. The Ministry of Agriculture, for example, through irrigation, pumping, and other measures. BNPB will also modify the weather so that it rains in areas that need it," he said.

Not only that, the Minister of Home Affairs also asked the village government to play an active role in carrying out prevention efforts so that forest and land fires do not occur and can be immediately handled if a fire point appears.

"Involve the village heads to prevent fires from occurring and if they appear (fires) they can be handled immediately," he said.