Bureau says wet dry season possible

JAKARTA (JP): The national weather bureau says that rain, which has been drenching many parts of Indonesia this past week, may continue all through to August and beyond, raising the prospect of a "wet summer".

Paulus Agus Winarso, of the Meteorology Forecast and Services at the Meteorology and Geophysics Agency, said yesterday that the rain this past week had been caused by slight deviations in the normal air pressure patterns in the region.

He said the pressure in the northern part of the globe has been above normal while pressure in the south below normal.

"The end result is that we've been getting more rain this month. Usually, we're getting less at this time of the year," he told Antara.

The heavy downpour in Jakarta on Saturday took many people by surprise, causing floods in some parts and creating massive traffic jams as many roads were underwater.

Paulus did not rule out the possibility that this pattern will continue into the next rainy season, which usually begins in November. "This is almost similar to the situation we had in 1992, when we were getting plenty of rain during the dry season."

Paulus said that rain had been falling in Jakarta, many parts of Sumatra, West Java and Sulawesi. Even Nusa Tenggara, which is normally dry, has been getting some rain lately.

"However the Meteorology and Geophysics Agency cannot predict yet whether this is going to be a `wet summer'," he said, adding that conditions could still change.

He said people should be prepared for sudden changes in the weather.

He explained that Indonesia is not the only country experiencing freak weather conditions, pointing out the recent heat wave in India, the floods in Australia and New Zealand, and the tropical storms in the Philippines.

The current wet conditions contrast with that of last year when Indonesia experienced one of its longest and most severe dry spells. (emb)