Heavy rain and strong winds 'to continue'

JAKARTA (JP): Continued heavy rain and strong winds are forecast for most of the country until the end of February.

The new chief of the Meteorology and Geophysics Agency, Gunawan Ibrahim, said recent satellite observations showed clouds blanketing most of the country.

He said the islands of Java, Sulawesi and Nusa Tenggara, as well as the southern part of Sumatra, would be particularly effected by rain and wind.

"People in those areas should be more alert," Gunawan told The Jakarta Post over the telephone.

Wind, he said, had caused larger than usual waves in several areas, including the Sunda Strait separating Java and Sumatra, resulting in the recent delay of a number of ferry crossings.

Gunawan said that in March sporadic rain would mark the transition from the rainy season to the dry season.

He said the current rains and winds were associated with tropical storms north of Australia and south of Java in the Indian Ocean.

"It also has something to do with the wind drifting in from the Asian mainland. Those factors have caused an energy release in the form of strong winds," he said.

Gunawan, who has been in charge of the agency for only 10 days, said there had been some deviations in the weather pattern this year.

Usually, he said, the rainy season ends in February, but this year the rain is peaking this month.

"There is nothing we can do about the weather shift. It is due to some changes in global weather patterns and climate," Gunawan said.

"At least it did not happen in December or January, when millions of people were traveling to their hometowns to celebrate the holidays." (hdn)