Heavy rain and strong winds 'to continue'<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Continued heavy rain and strong winds are
\nforecast for most of the country until the end of February.<\/p>\n
The new chief of the Meteorology and Geophysics Agency,
\nGunawan Ibrahim, said recent satellite observations showed clouds
\nblanketing most of the country.<\/p>\n
He said the islands of Java, Sulawesi and Nusa Tenggara, as
\nwell as the southern part of Sumatra, would be particularly
\neffected by rain and wind.<\/p>\n
\"People in those areas should be more alert,\" Gunawan told The
\nJakarta Post over the telephone.<\/p>\n
Wind, he said, had caused larger than usual waves in several
\nareas, including the Sunda Strait separating Java and Sumatra,
\nresulting in the recent delay of a number of ferry crossings.<\/p>\n
Gunawan said that in March sporadic rain would mark the
\ntransition from the rainy season to the dry season.<\/p>\n
He said the current rains and winds were associated with
\ntropical storms north of Australia and south of Java in the
\nIndian Ocean.<\/p>\n
\"It also has something to do with the wind drifting in from
\nthe Asian mainland. Those factors have caused an energy release
\nin the form of strong winds,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Gunawan, who has been in charge of the agency for only 10
\ndays, said there had been some deviations in the weather pattern
\nthis year.<\/p>\n
Usually, he said, the rainy season ends in February, but this
\nyear the rain is peaking this month.<\/p>\n
\"There is nothing we can do about the weather shift. It is due
\nto some changes in global weather patterns and climate,\" Gunawan
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
\"At least it did not happen in December or January, when
\nmillions of people were traveling to their hometowns to celebrate
\nthe holidays.\" (hdn)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/heavy-rain-and-strong-winds-to-continue-1447893297",
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