BMKG Says Riau Islands Are Safe From Extreme Heat, The Highest Temperature Is Only 34.6 Degrees Celsius, But...

One of the icons of Batam city "Welcome to Batam" (ANTARA)

BATAM - Extreme weather with hot temperatures that occur in many areas in Indonesia is not expected to occur in the Riau Islands province.

"The impact of the heat is normal, not as extreme as other areas," said Head of the Data and Information Section of the Class I BMKG Meteorological Station Hang Nadim Batam, Suratman when contacted, Antara, Tuesday, May 10.

If measured on average in the last few days, said Suratman, the maximum maximum temperature in Batam only reached 34.6 degrees Celsius. This is different when compared to other areas outside the Riau Islands Province, such as Kalimantan, Palembang, and Tangerang, Banten which can reach 36 degrees Celsius.

For the Riau Islands itself, the forecast for the weather trend in May 2022 should actually be a period of peaking rain intensity. However, now temperatures are warming, and new rain clouds are forming after several days of evaporation from the scorching heat.

"Due to the lack of clouds, it often gets hot, but that will encourage high evaporation and lead to the formation of rain clouds. So the pattern is after a few days of heat, then it rains," said Suratman.

Even though the weather is not as extreme as other areas, Suratman still appeals to the people of Batam City to keep their body condition fit and to meet their fluid needs to prevent dehydration.

Previously, the Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) appealed to the public to be aware of hot or scorching temperatures during the day until mid-May 2022.

"The public is advised to always maintain the condition of body stamina and adequate body fluids, especially for residents who are active outdoors during the day," said BMKG Deputy for Meteorology Guswanto in a written statement received in Jakarta today.

He explained that the phenomenon of scorching heat that occurred in the last few days was triggered by several things, namely the apparent position of the sun is now in the north of the equator which indicates that some parts of Indonesia will begin to enter the dry season, where the rate of cloud growth and the phenomenon of rain will be greatly reduced, so that sunny weather in the morning before noon will be quite dominant.