'Godzilla El Niño' and Its Threats to the Agricultural Sector

Indonesia is expected to be overshadowed by the ‘Godzilla El Niño’ phenomenon during the dry season. This term has emerged to describe the very strong intensity of El Niño.

Expert and Professor in Agroclimatology at Universitas Gadjah Mada (UGM), Bayu Dwi Apri Nugroho, explained that El Niño is fundamentally part of a long-standing climate cycle. However, worsening climate change and global warming make the occurrence of El Niño difficult to predict.

At times, El Niño can be in a normal condition, but there are instances when El Niño can rage wildly, leading to the term ‘Godzilla El Niño’. This term refers to the intensity of El Niño that is far stronger than usual.

According to Bayu, this condition will have serious impacts on water availability. As a result, one sector will be most affected by Godzilla El Niño, namely agriculture.

‘Well, if the intensity is already very strong, the impact will certainly be felt in agriculture, especially in terms of production,’ said Bayu, quoted from the UGM website, Thursday (2/4/2026), as reported by detikEdu.

Bayu explained that major food commodities, such as rice and maize, require large amounts of water to grow. When water supply decreases, these two crops cannot develop optimally.

The decline in water availability also affects the harvest yields and quality of production of other commodities. Plants may even experience permanent damage and potentially lead to crop failure in extreme conditions.

When this happens, farmers will certainly suffer considerable losses. Considering that the production costs already incurred are unlikely to be recovered as profit.

‘If drought occurs after planting, farmers could face crop failure. That means, the costs already spent will not be recovered and become losses,’ explained Bayu.