Days Without Rain: BMKG Reports 9 Regions in NTB Under Drought Alert

The Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) has designated nine out of ten regencies/cities in West Nusa Tenggara (NTB) as being under a meteorological drought alert, following an increasingly long period of days without rain in the region.

“Only Mataram City has not yet entered the drought alert status as it remains at the alert level, while the other nine regions are already at the meteorological drought alert level,” said Suci Agustiarini, a Forecaster at the NTB Climatology Station, in Mataram on Monday.

Suci stated that the areas under the meteorological drought alert level include West Lombok, Central Lombok, East Lombok, North Lombok, West Sumbawa, Sumbawa, Dompu, Bima, and Bima City, covering a total of 38 sub-districts.

According to Suci, the longest consecutive period of days without rain was recorded at the Bolo Rain Station in Bima Regency, reaching 105 days, which falls into the category of extreme drought.

“During the first ten-day period of September 2026, or from 1 to 10 September, the potential for rain across all NTB regions is very low, with a probability of less than 10 per cent,” she said.

The current El Niño condition is in the very strong category, with a Nino3.4 index of +2.99 degrees Celsius. BMKG predicts that this very strong El Niño phenomenon could persist until early 2027.

BMKG has urged the public to use water wisely to anticipate a potential clean water crisis resulting from the expanding areas under the meteorological drought alert level.

According to previous reports, the dry season affecting NTB lasts for 25 to 27 ten-day periods, equivalent to eight to nine months. The dry season began in April 2026, with the peak period occurring in August 2026, affecting approximately 89 to 90 per cent of the NTB region.