No signs yet of next El Nino, says BMG<\/p>\n
Fitri Wulandari, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
The National Meteorology and Geophysics Agency (BMG) said on
\nSaturday that it had yet to see any signs that El Nino, the
\nweather phenomenon known to cause devastating floods and
\ndroughts, will return to the country this year.<\/p>\n
Achmad Zakir, chief of BMG's forecast and service subdivision,
\nsaid his office had not recorded warmer water in the eastern part
\nof the Pacific Ocean, which is one of the early signs of El Nino.<\/p>\n
\"For Indonesia, we have observed that the sea surface
\ntemperature is rising and remains unstable. It is too early to
\nsay, however, whether El Nino is coming or not,\" he said.<\/p>\n
However, Achmad did not rule out the possible return of El
\nNino.<\/p>\n
He said heavy downpours, caused by the warming of the sea
\nsurface, were also early signs of El Nino.<\/p>\n
Although most parts of Indonesia have been hit by torrential
\nrain in recent weeks, causing floods and landslides in some
\nareas, Achmad said it was not a sign that El Nino will return.<\/p>\n
He said the amount of rainfall was returning to normal.<\/p>\n
Achmad further said El Nino would come when air pressure in
\nDarwin, Australia, is recorded to be higher than in Tahiti,
\nlocated at the other end of the Pacific Ocean. \"We haven't
\ndetected this either,\" he said.<\/p>\n
He said the BMG would continue to closely monitor any sign of
\nthe weather phenomenon. \"We will be able to predict the possible
\nreturn of El Nino in March at the very latest,\" Achmad said.<\/p>\n
U.S. forecasters at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric
\nAdministration (NOAA) released a report on Thursday, which
\nclaimed that El Nino is likely to return in the spring of this
\nyear.<\/p>\n
Unable to say if the impending El Nino will be as severe as in
\n1997, they warned tropical Pacific countries, including
\nIndonesia, to be alert against scorching drought.<\/p>\n
\"Indonesia is likely to realize some relief from torrential
\nrains,\" said Vernon Kousky, a climate specialist with the NOAA.<\/p>\n
El Nino, meaning boy in Spanish, is an abnormal warming of
\nwaters in the eastern Pacific Ocean. It changes global winds and
\nrain patterns, and usually happens once every two to seven years,
\ncausing storms, droughts, floods and crop failures.<\/p>\n
The last El Nino, which lasted from 1997 to 1998, was
\nconsidered extreme as it caused prolonged droughts in Australia,
\nIndonesia and the Philippines, as well as floods in Peru and
\nEcuador.<\/p>\n
At least 300,000 hectares of forest in Sumatra and Kalimantan
\ncaught fire and this was partly attributed to El Nino. The fires
\nresulted in an environmental disaster that sent smoky haze to
\nneighboring countries, in particular Malaysia.<\/p>\n
Crop failures, stemming from El Nino in 1997, prompted a food
\ncrisis in many parts of Indonesia, including Irian Jaya, where
\naround 300 locals in remote districts of Jayawijaya and Merauke
\ndied from starvation.<\/p>",
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