The Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) has called on the public to prepare for extreme weather and possible natural disasters as many parts of the country shift to the rainy season.
BMKG weather forecasting department head Miming Saepudin said several regions would likely see heavy rain and thunderstorms in September.
“Heavy rainfall is predicted in the north of Sumatra, especially along the west to north coastal area,” Miming said on Monday, as reported by tempo.co.
He said heavy downpours were also expected in the northern part of Central Kalimantan, parts of West Kalimantan, as well as the northern parts of Sulawesi, Maluku, North Maluku and Papua.
Miming noted that several other regions could experience droughts in September, even though the peak of the dry season had passed in August.
“The regions that need to stay alert for potential droughts are East Java, Madura and parts of Bali, most of West Nusa Tenggara (NTB) and East Nusa Tenggara (NTT),” Miming said.
“Based on our current data, these regions will not see rain for quite some time,” he added.
About 85 percent of the country, he said, remained in the dry season, while the remaining 15 percent had begun to enter the rainy season.
“From September to November, we have to stay alert for extreme weather, such as tornadoes, heavy downpours and thunderstorms because these occur more frequently during the transition to the rainy season,” Miming said. (nal)
