Scorching heat to continue until December, BMG says
Scorching heat to continue until December, BMG says
Damar Harsanto, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Constan, in his 30s, a resident of Kedoya in West Jakarta, said
the heat wave that has baked the city over the last several weeks
made it impossible to keep his clothes dry.
"Not just during the day, but also in the evening I just sweat
so much. I have to change clothes six or seven times a day,"
Constan said on Tuesday.
Endang, in her 40s, a resident of Karet in Central Jakarta,
said the heat had driven her and her family out of their home and
into the mall.
"I cannot afford to run the air conditioner all day, so I
prefer to take my children to the mall and spend the day window-
shopping," she said.
Constan and Endang are among the millions of Jakarta residents
suffering from the unusually high temperatures in the city.
Unfortunately, there does not seem to be any relief on the
horizon. The Meteorology and Geophysics Agency (BMG) said on
Tuesday residents could not expect any respite until early
December, when the rains were expected to arrive.
Temperatures in Jakarta have been hovering around 34 degrees
Celsius degree over the past few weeks, compared to an average
temperature of 32 degrees Celsius. Officials said earlier
temperatures could rise as high as 35 degrees Celsius.
BMG senior official Achmad Zakir said on Tuesday that while
most parts of the city had experienced scattered rains over the
last several weeks, the rainy season would only begin in early
December.
"We will continue to have scattered rains, strong winds and
lightning this month, but the rainy season will only start early
next month," Zakir said.
He said that because of the strong winds that were dispersing
the cloud cover, especially in the morning, huge amounts of heat
were being trapped by the ground.
"Then in the afternoon the excessive heat in the ground
vaporizes huge amounts of liquids, creating towering clouds that
lock up the heat by preventing it from releasing into the open
air," he explained.
He said this was similar to the heat wave that occurred last
November, when temperatures in the city reached more than 35
degrees Celsius.
Zakir said that in addition to climate-related factors, the
growing population and increasing industrial and vehicle
emissions were also responsible for higher temperatures in the
city.
Environmentalists have warned that temperatures in the city
will continue to climb as more trees are lost and the remaining
green spaces are converted into buildings.