Forestry Minister Ensures Preparedness for Potential Early El Niño Phenomenon

Jakarta (ANTARA) - Indonesia’s Forestry Minister Raja Juli Antoni has stated that the ministry is undertaking preparatory measures to mitigate forest and land fires (karhutla) in anticipation of a drier dry season this year and the potential early onset of the El Niño phenomenon.

Speaking after officiating the cat sterilisation activity and the Animal-Friendly Forestry Ministry programme in Jakarta on Thursday, Forestry Minister Raja Juli Antoni disclosed that the ministry has received reports from the Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) regarding the potential for a drier dry season and early El Niño in June.

The government has already conducted a coordination meeting on karhutla mitigation, led by Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal and Security Affairs Djamari Chaniago in early March, together with the Forestry Minister and relevant ministries and agencies.

He assured that efforts to extinguish forest and land fires are being carried out by the Forestry Ministry through Manggala Agni across several provinces, including Riau and West Kalimantan.

“Because, if we learn from history, anticipation and collaboration are what become very important. If we only move after fires start burning, that becomes difficult. So, Kalimantan and Riau have already begun operations management centre (OMC) activities,” he said.

Previously, BMKG announced its prediction for the dry season in 2026 across the Sumatra region, beginning progressively in May in northern Aceh, parts of North Sumatra, southeastern Riau, parts of Jambi, central South Sumatra, and Lampung.

The dry season will then be felt across much of Aceh, West Sumatra, Riau, central Jambi, parts of Bengkulu, and parts of South Sumatra in June.

BMKG also issued a warning regarding the prediction of El Niño, which was previously forecast to emerge in 2027, but is now estimated to arrive in the second half of 2026.