Dry season starts early in Jakarta and north Java
Dry season starts early in Jakarta and north Java
JAKARTA (JP): The dry season will begin as early as April in
Jakarta and most northern coastal areas of Java, which could have
severe implications on water supplies in the region, the weather
forecast agency says.
Some parts of the country, including Situbondo in East Java,
East Sumba, East Flores and the northern part of East Timor,
will even experience dry spell as early as this month, the
Meteorology and Geophysics Agency said.
Agency chairman Karjoto told reporters on Monday that the
early than normal arrival of the dry season in Java could
severely deplete water resources on the island given that the
rainy season arrived late last year.
Karjoto said to anticipate another long dry spell, his agency
has already began discussions with other government agencies on
plans to conduct cloud-seeding in order to induce rain.
The government last year responded to the situation late, and
had little time to launch efforts to induce rain as there were
barely enough clouds between the months of July and September,
when the drought was at its peak.
This year the Agency for the Research and Application of
Technology, which is chaired by State Minister of Research and
Technology B.J. Habibie, is already planning to hold the first
discussion involving various government agencies on the cloud-
seeding program this week.
The severe dry spell last year resulted in reductions in the
country's production of rice, forcing Indonesia to import rice
for the first time since it became self sufficient in the staple
diet in 1984.
Karjoto said the cloud-seeding programs will be concentrated
largely to fill in the various reservoirs in Java, such as
Jatiluhur, Karangates and Gajah Mungkur.
He said the severity of the dry season in Indonesia has been
less predictable over the last four years.
He blamed this on the rising temperature on the surface of the
Central Pacific which in turn led to declining rainfall in
Indonesia.
In each of the last four years, the average rainfall in
Indonesia was 62 percent of the normal rate, he said. The worst
was in 1991 when it was 22 percent. In 1993 it was 70 percent and
in 1994 just 30 percent. The average rainfall was higher than
normal in 1992. This year, the average rainfall is expected to be
below normal again, he added.
Karjoto said the dry season will begin in April on the
northern coast of West Java, the northern coast of Central Java,
the southern coast of East Java, and the hills south of Bandung.
The dry season will begin in May in the central part of East
Java, Lampung, and the western part of Sulawesi.
The dry season will begin in May in Pandeglang, southern
Sukabumi, Banyumas, southern Sumatra, Jambi, the eastern part of
Central Kalimantan, south Minahasa and Southeast Maluku.
The eastern part of South Kalimantan, most of South Sulawesi
and the northern part of Minahasa will be the regions where the
dry season will begin late this year, Karjoto said. (emb)