BMKG Reminds Potential Disaster Due To Heavy Rain

Head of BMKG Dwikorita Karnawati/ANTARA

JAKARTA - Head of the Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) Dwikorita Karnawati warned that there is a potential for natural disasters due to high rainfall in late 2021 and early 2022.

Dwikorita conveyed that rainfall conditions are predicted to occur from November, December 2021, and continue in January and February 2022.

BMKG said that the Indonesian region has weather conditions influenced by the interaction of the Asian and Australian continents so that out-of-cycle weather changes can occur instantly and suddenly.

"This means that the forecast can suddenly change, because something suddenly changes elsewhere," said Dwikorita during the disaster training themed "La Nina, Phenomenon and Its Impact", held by the PDI-P DPP, quoted by Antara, Wednesday, 27 October.

Dwikorita gave an example of the Jabodetabek flood incident in January 2020 that had actually been detected a week earlier. But then the intensity of the rain exceeded what was expected.

The former Dean at UGM also emphasized that the message from the Chairperson of the PDI-P Megawati Soekarnoputri about the sea water temperature anomaly was a fact.

This is because BMKG has conducted satellite monitoring of sea level in the Pacific which is currently colder than normal.

On the other hand, the sea surface temperature in the Indonesian archipelago is warmer than usual. This causes air pressure in the Pacific region to be higher, and Indonesia to have lower air pressure.

"Rainfall that should have fallen in one month's installments, but due to the influence of regional phenomena and the rush of air, finally the volume of rainfall that should have fallen in a month can fall in 24 hours," said Dwikorita.

Therefore, it is very important to understand that disasters occur because of the environment.

"How can it not be flooded if everything is filled with asphalt and concrete, the trees are cut down, so that the infiltration of water immediately becomes blocked. This is what causes a disaster if it rains heavily within a few hours, and the environment cannot absorb immediately due to natural damage. So reforestation keeps "Environmental sustainability is very, very appropriate to reduce the risk of the environment's inability to absorb water that comes immediately," said Dwikorita.