Rainy season forecast to start soon

JAKARTA (JP): The Meteorology and Geophysics Agency has forecast the start of this year's rainy season as early as this month for West Java, Aceh, North Sumatra, Riau and Jambi.

But another 68 percent of Indonesia will not have rainfall until as late as December, agency chief Sri Diharto told journalists on Thursday.

Rainfall in most parts of Java, South Sumatra, South Kalimantan, East Kalimantan, Bali, the Nusa Tenggara islands and North and South Sulawesi will begin in October and November.

In South Sulawesi, East Timor, Maluku and southern Irian Jaya, rainfall will not occur until December, Diharto said, adding that the forecast was made based on data obtained from 102 observation stations.

Diharto said the level of rainfall during the 1996/1997 rainy season will be normal in 61 percent of Indonesia, above normal in 26 percent and below normal in 15 percent.

According to Diharto, the forecast was made based on the amount of rainfall recorded until the end of August, and observation of the atmospheric condition during the same period.

The agency also predicts that the 1996 dry season will be normal, Antara reported. (14)