JAYAPURA - The Center for Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics (BBMKG) Region V Jayapura stated that the cause of the snow in Tembagapura, Mimika Regency, Central Papua, was the result of the rainy season that is currently occurring in the area.
Forecaster of the Jayapura BBMKG Weather Septiana Monicasari said the rainy season is estimated until August 2023, so the potential for rain clouds to form is also increasing.
Snow reportedly fell Sunday (24/7) in Tembagapura, Mimika Regency, and is a rare phenomenon occurring in Indonesia which is a tropical region.
Snow is small ice particles in clouds that blend into ice crystals and as they get bigger they fall to the ground.
Ice crystals in the clouds, he said, could form if the atmospheric temperature was below the freezing point of 0 degrees Celsius and in general ice crystals could fall to the earth's surface in the form of snow if the temperature around the ground surface was less than 5 degrees Celsius.
Very humid air conditions are also a factor for snow forming, clouds that can generally snow down are Nimbostratus clouds, low clouds that are thick enough and have a shape that spreads like thick fog and gray color.
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Similar to Cumulonimbus clouds, Nimbostratus clouds are also a type of rain-carrying cloud. The rain caused by these clouds is usually long duration with intensity that is not too heavy. This, he said, is different from Cumulonimbus clouds which can cause very heavy rain and also hail (hail).
Meanwhile, Tembagapura is a fairly high area, he said, approximately 2500 MDPL so that the air temperature in the area is quite cold because it is getting higher a place, the air temperature will also decrease, as well as the atmospheric pressure.
"That's why in the Tembagapura area snow and hail are formed," said Septiana.
Meanwhile, Mimika Police Chief AKBP I Gede Putra separately said the phenomenon of snowfall on July 24, 2023 was only a few hours.
Tembagapura, Mimika Regency is an operational area of PT Freeport Indonesia.
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