BMKG: Heat Wave Did Not Occur In Indonesia

Illustration (Pixabay)

JAKARTA - The Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency stated that Indonesia was not experiencing a heat wave as this information was spread through social media with daytime temperatures reaching 40 degrees Celsius.

Reported by Antara, Saturday, November 14, BMKG through a written statement to journalists said the news circulating was incorrect because the current hot and scorching conditions were not classified as a heat wave.

In climatology, heat waves are periods of unusually high weather or hot temperatures lasting at least five consecutive days or more accompanied by high humidity.

An area is considered a heat wave if it registers a daily maximum temperature that exceeds statistical thresholds such as a 5 degree Celsius jump compared to normal and lasting for five or more consecutive days.

If the maximum temperature occurs within its average range and does not last long, it is not considered a heat wave. Heat waves generally occur in association with the development of weather patterns for high atmospheric pressure systems in an area permanently over several days.

Based on BMKG's monitoring of the maximum temperature in Indonesia, the highest temperature during the day has increased in the last few days. Temperatures of over 36 degrees Celsius were recorded in Bima, Sabu and Sumbawa on November 12, 2020.

The highest temperature on that day was recorded at Sultan Muhammad Salahudin Airport, Bima, which was 37.2 degrees Celsius. However, the temperature record is not a big deviation from the average climate maximum temperature in the region and is still within reasonable limits.

The reason for the high temperature in recent times is because there is an apparent position of the sun's motion that is right over Java Island on its way to 23 south latitude after leaving the equator. This pseudo position makes sun exposure trigger an increase in temperature. The apparent position of the Sun over Java Island will occur twice, namely in November and April.

One of the effects of this apparent position was that the Java and NTT regions experienced increased temperatures but were not classified as heat waves.