BMKG reports seven regions in West Nusa Tenggara under drought alert

The Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) has stated that seven out of ten regencies/cities in West Nusa Tenggara (NTB) have entered a meteorological drought alert status, driven by a dry season intensified by El Niño with an index of +2.26 degrees Celsius.

“The Belo and Bolo rain stations in Bima Regency have not recorded any rainfall for 74 consecutive days. These two areas fall into the extreme drought category as it has been more than two months without rain,” said Suci Agustiarini, a forecaster at the NTB Climatology Station, in Mataram on Saturday.

Suci explained that the seven regions under the drought alert status are East Lombok, North Lombok, West Sumbawa, Sumbawa, Dompu, Bima, and Bima City. Currently, a total of 17 sub-districts across these seven regions in West Nusa Tenggara are at the highest level of the meteorological drought early warning.

According to the agency, the El Niño phenomenon, which has strengthened during this year’s dry season, has caused the number of rainless days to continue increasing in several areas. By the end of July 2026, rainfall in NTB was generally dominated by the low category, ranging from 0 to 10 millimetres per ten-day period. The highest rainfall was only recorded at the Lenangguar Rain Station in Sumbawa Regency, at 19 millimetres per ten-day period.

BMKG estimates that the probability of rain during the first ten-day period of August 2026 (1–10 August) remains very low, with a chance of less than 10 per cent across all regions of West Nusa Tenggara.

Suci reminded the public to be vigilant regarding the potential for forest, land, and residential fires by avoiding indiscriminate waste burning or leaving fire sources unsupervised. “In connection with the increasing number of rainless days and the growing number of regions under meteorological drought alert status, we hope the public can use water wisely to anticipate a clean water crisis,” she concluded.