BMKG warns of drier conditions ahead in the 2026 dry season

Jakarta — The Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) has warned that the dry season in Indonesia this year will be longer and relatively drier than in 2025.

“Forecasts for most parts of Indonesia indicate that the onset will be earlier. Then it will also be longer. In layman’s terms, 2026 will be relatively drier than 2025,” said BMKG Chief Prof. Ir. Teuku Faisal Fathani at a press conference at BMKG’s Jakarta Office on Wednesday.

The dry season is predicted to begin in April 2026 in several regions of Indonesia, namely 114 wet-season zones, and gradually will be felt in other areas in May and June.

This condition shows that the start of the dry season in Indonesia will come earlier this year than normal.

Furthermore, BMKG also predicts that the conditions during the dry season this year will be normal, while some areas will experience drier-than-usual conditions.

“What we need to watch out for are areas predicted to experience a dry season that is below normal,” he said.

Regions predicted to experience drier-than-normal or below-normal dry season include Aceh, parts of North Sumatra, parts of Riau, parts of the Riau Islands, parts of West Sumatra, parts of Jambi, most of South Sumatra, the Bangka Belitung Islands, parts of Bengkulu, parts of Lampung, parts of Java.

A similar pattern is also predicted to be experienced by most of Bali and West Nusa Tenggara, parts of East Nusa Tenggara, West Kalimantan, parts of Central Kalimantan, South Kalimantan and East Kalimantan, parts of South Sulawesi, parts of Southeast Sulawesi, parts of West Sulawesi, parts of Central Sulawesi, the central Gorontalo, parts of North Sulawesi.

In the eastern Indonesia region, the potential for a drier-than-normal dry season is possible in most of Maluku, most of North Maluku, and parts of West Papua, parts of Papua, parts of Papua Tengah, Papua Pegunungan and Papua Selatan.