Drought Disaster Affects 15 Regencies and Cities in West Java

The West Java Regional Disaster Management Agency (BPBD) has reported that 15 regencies and cities in West Java have been affected by drought. In detail, 89 districts across those 15 regencies and cities are experiencing drought.

“As many as 89 districts in 15 regencies and cities in West Java have been affected by drought,” said Hadi Rahmat, Expert Public Relations Officer of West Java BPBD, when contacted on Tuesday (28 July 2026).

Of the 15 regencies and cities affected by drought, he said Bogor Regency was the worst hit, with 24 districts experiencing drought. It was followed by Tasikmalaya Regency with 12 districts affected and Bekasi Regency with 9 districts.

Meanwhile, the number of residents affected has reached 61,505 families, or 205,567 individuals. Amid the drought conditions, the agency has continued to distribute clean water to the affected areas.

“Four million litres of clean water have been distributed to the 15 regencies and cities,” he said.

Hadi added that the signs of drought visible in the 15 regencies and cities include low rainfall, and dry and cracked soil. In addition, water sources from wells and springs have diminished, harvests have failed, and people’s activities have been disrupted.

Separately, the Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) in Bandung has urged the public to remain vigilant against extreme cold weather in the Greater Bandung area during the dry season. The lowest air temperature was recorded at 16 degrees Celsius.

Acting Head of the BMKG Bandung office, Edi Wibowo, said the Greater Bandung area entered the start of the dry season in July. In addition, extreme cold temperatures tend to occur during the dry season, from night time through to the morning.

“During the dry season, in the daytime, sunlight is at its most intense because cloud cover is minimal or non-existent, so the earth’s surface receives maximum radiation,” he said on Tuesday (28 July 2026).

At night, he continued, the earth releases energy. Because there are no clouds, Edi said that from night time until the early hours, the radiation stored at the earth’s surface is released to the maximum.

“This is the condition that causes the earth’s surface to cool rapidly due to the maximum loss of energy. The impact is minimum temperatures or extreme cold air from night until the early hours,” he said.

In addition, a further reason why air temperatures drop during the dry season is the existence of winter in Australia. A relatively high air pressure pattern over Australia causes cold air masses to move towards Indonesia, better known as the Australian monsoon.

“This is also the main cause of the dry season in Indonesia. The Australian monsoon carries cold, dry air from Australia to Indonesia, which is located in the southern hemisphere,” he said.

Edi added that the minimum temperature in Bandung City was recorded at 16.6 degrees Celsius on 26 July 2026.