I

t has been so hot here in Jakarta for the past couple of months, making the air drier and dustier, the nights hotter and more uncomfortable, and the wish for rain so much stronger. Reservoirs are running low, fields are drying up and there is no clear idea when the rainy season will return.

However, there has been some indication of a change coming in the weather with two showers albeit heavy ones in the evening this week, and then last night some heavy rain for an hour.

It rained fairly heavily on Thursday night in Puri and Grogol and so the journey home was slower and more cautious as there were an awful lot of deep puddles.

Last Friday and Saturday I spotted so many new holes and dips in the roads, mainly where were new cables have been laid and then the holes filled in. They have all sunk and this is in the main lanes for bikes so this will slow traffic as motorists pass the potholes carefully. I am hoping that someone in the government can visited the streets to identify where the water does not drain away and get someone to fix these problems. I suspect that the drains and gullies are blocked with rubbish and dirt and debris and perhaps if we are lucky that will get sorted out.

After seeing and hearing the rain last night, I was instantly reminded of the fact that its going to be hellish getting home at night in the rain and I can only hope that it rains through the night or between 11-4 in the day when I am working! Still, the rain has washed some of the dust and dirt off the bike but I am sure it has added more.

The city seems now to be back to normal but the traffic seems to be not quite right as some days there is no traffic and others you can’t go anywhere. Perhaps it is me as I have been going to work at different times, but it does seem weird at the moment.

I have a feeling and I do hope I will be proved wrong that this rainy season will be a big one. When I came here in 2007, one of the first things I was told was that Jakarta has big rainy seasons every five years, which becomes quite important and relevant. I came here in 2007. There were terrible floods through the city. It will be 5 years next year. 2012 could be another big year for floods. Mind you, 2008 was not much better!

John Andri
(This is also posted in IMO)