BMKG forecasts rain across most major Indonesian cities

Jakarta (ANTARA) - The Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) has forecast that weather conditions across various regions of Indonesia on Thursday will be dominated by light to moderate rainfall.

BMKG forecaster Ina Indah H., reporting via an online broadcast followed from Jakarta on Thursday, said cities across Sumatra — including Aceh, Medan, Pekanbaru, Padang, Tanjung Pinang, Jambi, Bengkulu, Palembang and Lampung — have the potential for light to moderate rain.

“For Java, light to moderate rain is expected in Serang, Jakarta, Bandung, Semarang, Yogyakarta and Surabaya,” she said.

For the Bali and Nusa Tenggara regions, Ina said weather conditions are forecast to bring light to moderate rain in Denpasar, Mataram and Kupang.

Meanwhile in Kalimantan, light to moderate rain is likely in Tanjung Selor, Samarinda and Palangkaraya. Rain accompanied by lightning should also be watched for in Pontianak and Banjarmasin.

For the Sulawesi region, cloudy conditions are expected in Makassar, whilst light to moderate rain has the potential to drench Mamuju, Kendari, Palu, Gorontalo and Manado.

In eastern Indonesia, Ina noted that weather is generally forecast to bring light to moderate rain in Sorong, Manokwari, Ternate, Nabire, Jayapura, Jayawijaya and Merauke. Meanwhile, Ambon is expected to experience heavy cloud cover.

She reminded the public to remain vigilant against the potential for extreme weather that could occur at any time.

BMKG head Teuku Faisal Fathani emphasised that Indonesia is currently still in its peak rainy season period.

“The first thing we need to convey is that we are still at the peak of the rainy season in January-February, which will then taper off. However, high-intensity rainfall is still occurring across most of Indonesia,” he said.

BMKG predicts that in February 2026, rainfall will generally fall within the low to high category. Very high rainfall is likely in West Java, Central Java, East Nusa Tenggara and South Sulawesi.

Meanwhile, in March 2026, rainfall is expected to be in the medium to high category, with potential for very high rainfall in West Java, Central Java, South Sulawesi and Central Papua.

During the Eid al-Fitr holiday period, a number of atmospheric phenomena are predicted to remain active, including the Asian Monsoon, the Madden-Julian Oscillation (MJO), atmospheric waves, and potential cyclone seeds or tropical cyclones, particularly in the southern regions of Indonesia.