Rainfall becomes less predictable

Rainfall becomes less predictable

BANDUNG, West Java (JP): Seasonal rains are becoming less
predictable, with the dry season receiving more rainfall than it
used to and the rainy season experiencing less, a weather expert
says.

Zadrach L. Dupe, a lecturer on geophysics and meteorology at
the Bandung Institute of Technology, told The Jakarta Post
yesterday that the change may have serious consequences for
farmers and their planting seasons.

Fisheries and plantations could also be affected, he said
during an international symposium on equatorial atmosphere
observation in Indonesia.

Zadrach said he and his colleagues have spent the last few
years studying rainfall patterns in the country. Their research
has found that while the average rainfall per year has not
changed, the dry season now experiences more rain than usual.

Zadrach, who studied atmosphere dynamics in Berlin, said
Indonesia still cannot determine a more permanent weather pattern
because its weather data records only go back to 1960.

He added that the effects of the changing weather pattern must
be studied by experts from various disciplines in order to make
recommendations. Farmers must also be informed of the changes and
actions they can take.

Zadrach said the major floods that recently swept across
Jakarta and many other parts of the country are not an indication
of more rain.

Some of the floods, he explained, were man-made.

He questioned the claim by an official in Jakarta that last
month's flooding was the worst since 1942.

"If Jakarta was flooded in 1942 to the same extent as last
month, it must have been an exceptionally heavy downpour," he
said. (17)