Pramono Orders Weather Modification for the Next 5 Days, Ready to be Extended to 30 Days

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JAKARTA - DKI Jakarta Governor Pramono Anung responded to the warning from the Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) regarding the potential for extreme rainfall that is still lurking in Jakarta in the next week. The DKI Provincial Government decided to carry out weather modification operations (OMC) again as an anticipation of flooding.

Pramono said he had instructed the DKI Jakarta Regional Disaster Management Agency (BPBD) to carry out weather modification for the next five days, starting January 13, 2026. This policy was taken after reviewing BMKG data which was considered to show a weather pattern similar to the previous period.

"I have ordered the BPBD to modify the weather for the next five days," said Pramono.

According to Pramono, previous experience shows that without weather modification interventions, the impact of heavy rain has the potential to be greater. Therefore, this step is considered necessary to be taken again to reduce the risk of flooding in Jakarta.

Not only that, the DKI Provincial Government has also prepared a budget if weather modification operations must be extended. Pramono said the government was ready to carry out weather modification for up to 30 days if extreme weather conditions continued.

"In fact, we have budgeted for this 30 days, let's say that if we have to modify the weather every day, we will do it," he said.

Pramono emphasized that the decision was made after considering the comparison of the impact of flooding with the cost and risk of implementing weather modification. The government, he said, considered preventive measures more rational than dealing with the widespread flooding.

"Because of the calculations we have done, the impact of flooding compared to weather modification, it is better to do weather modification," said Pramono.

BMKG predicts that heavy rain accompanied by strong winds will still occur in Jakarta in the next week. A number of areas are asked to increase vigilance, especially the southern and eastern areas of the Capital City.

The Head of the BMKG Weather Prediction and Early Warning Working Team, Ida Pramuwardani, said that most of Jakarta is still likely to be hit by rain with varying intensities, ranging from light to heavy. This condition can also be accompanied by lightning or lightning and gusts of strong wind.

"In the next week, most of Jakarta is still potentially rainy with light to heavy intensity which can be accompanied by lightning/thunder and strong winds. Heavy rain is potentially occurring in some areas of South Jakarta and East Jakarta," Ida told reporters.

BMKG assesses that the potential for this extreme weather is inseparable from the active regional atmospheric dynamics. One of the triggers is the strengthening of the Asian Monsoon which increases the supply of wet air mass to the Indonesian region, including Jakarta.

In addition, there is an increase in wind speed from the South China Sea area moving south through the Karimata Strait to Java Island. This pattern strengthens the wind convergence along Java and its surroundings, which supports the formation of high-intensity rain clouds.

Another factor comes from the southern region of Indonesia. The presence of a low pressure area in the east of Australia triggers the formation of a cyclonic wind circulation that affects the wind flow pattern in southern Indonesia. This condition slows down the movement of air masses and strengthens the process of rising wet air.

The combination of all these factors is considered to make the potential for heavy rain and strong winds still quite significant in Jakarta and its surrounding areas in the next few days.