Rano Karno: El Niño 'Godzilla' Could Trigger Hotter Temperatures and Dengue in Jakarta

Jakarta Deputy Governor Rano Karno has referred to the El Niño phenomenon as ‘Godzilla’, which is projected to last longer and cause hotter temperatures. Rano stated that the term emerged during discussions with the Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) regarding upcoming weather conditions. ‘Yesterday, we specifically invited BMKG; we will address the transitional period of pancaroba, which we often hear about as El Niño. This El Niño is now called ’Godzilla’, expected to be much longer, and Jakarta or Indonesia will be much hotter,’ he said in Kalideres, West Jakarta, on Sunday (12/4/2026). ‘So, that means the first disease we will face if El Niño occurs is dengue fever,’ he added. Rano also stressed the importance of maintaining environmental cleanliness to prevent mosquito breeding sites. ‘Friends, look at these piles; if we don’t clean them, they become dengue mosquito breeding grounds and are very dangerous for our children,’ he said. ‘This step includes transporting sorted waste, transporting sludge and normalising channels, cleaning rivers and water bodies, as well as dismantling buildings that cover channels,’ he concluded.