Rain predicted to start early next month

Rain predicted to start early next month

JAKARTA (JP): The National Meteorology and Geophysics Agency
forecast yesterday that the rain will start falling in Jakarta
between the second week of next month and the beginning of
December, an official said.

The head of the agency, Sri Diharto, told The Jakarta Post
that the latest forecast was two to four weeks later than an
earlier prediction because of the continuing effects of the El
Nio phenomenon.

"El Nio causes a periodic warming of the water's surface in
the Pacific Ocean," Diharto said.

Combined with its atmospheric partner, the Southern
Oscillation, El Nio affects temperature and rainfall patterns
throughout the world.

"El Nio is also affecting Indonesia because it is an
archipelagic country near the equator and it has lots of
volcanoes.

"It makes us prone to weather changes because there are always
trade winds and certain climatic conditions. So every change here
depends on what is going on outside Indonesia, and vice versa,"
he said.

Diharto warned people living in Jakarta to prepare for the
coming rainy season.

"The heavy rain will only begin in December and it usually
lasts until March."

He said the heaviest rain would be in January and probably
cause widespread flooding in the city.

"The average monthly rainfall will reach about 300
millimeters."

The agency also warned the city administration and other
related agencies to prepare for the monsoon by cleaning up their
environment and installing waste water injection shafts.

"Because of the prolonged dry season, many green areas have
dried up and the soil has corrugated. The land is so barren that
the water cannot be absorbed so if we are hit by heavy rain it
will cause flooding."

Diharto said his agency had issued the warning in newspapers
and on television.

"We are trying our best to provide people with the latest data
through the Forecasting Now program. But it is difficult because
the media ask us to pay a very high price to publicize the
information."

He rejected the controversial report by the World Climate
Research Program, which predicted that rain will not fall in
Indonesia until next April.

"That is crazy. The report has not been confirmed yet," he
said. "In fact, in Aceh, East Kalimantan and Irian Jaya, there
has already been heavy rain. So how can they say that?"

In a related development, Diharto said forest fires in
Kalimantan and Sumatra were not to blame for the city's haze.

"Based on a report from our stations, the haze that has been
covering the city since the SEA Games has come from forest fires
in Central Java and East Java.

However, the haze above Jakarta is thin and it is about 2,000
meters above the ground.

"So there is no need to worry about it too much," he said.
(07)