BMKG: 66 percent of West Java regions to be surrounded by early dry season

Bandung (ANTARA) - The Meteorological, Climatological, and Geophysical Agency (BMKG) of West Java has revealed that 66 percent of the province’s regions are predicted to be surrounded by drought earlier than usual, with weather conditions expected to be far drier than normal.

BMKG West Java has issued a serious warning to the public, as the dry season will not only arrive earlier and be much drier but also last significantly longer than normal conditions.

“As many as 56 percent of West Java’s regions are predicted to enter the dry season in May,” said BMKG West Java Forecaster Vivi Indhira online in Bandung on Tuesday.

Vivi explained that this drought phenomenon has actually started to creep in since March in Bekasi and northern Karawang, then expanded to Subang and Indramayu in April. The peak, she said, will see 90 percent of West Java’s regions experiencing extreme drought in August.

In addition to August, when 90 percent of the regions will reach the peak of the dry season, a small portion (8 percent) will peak in July and 2 percent in September.

Only 2 percent of the regions have different seasonal characteristics, covering the City of Bogor, central Bogor, and a small part of northern Sukabumi.

In response to this situation, BMKG West Java urges local governments and the public to immediately take mitigation measures to avoid a broader clean water crisis.

Residents are advised to start conserving clean water usage. Meanwhile, relevant authorities are asked to optimise the operation of reservoirs, dams, and rehabilitate retention basins as emergency water reserves.

In the agricultural sector, BMKG requests that farmers adjust their planting calendars by avoiding the peak dry season and switching to drought-resistant and short-duration crop varieties.

“For the disaster sector, preparedness is requested for the potential of drought and forest and local fire incidents,” said Vivi Indhira.