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El Nino: Drought spreading in seven provinces
With thousands of villages suffering from drought as Indonesia faces an intense dry season, experts have called on the government to make maximum use of rainwater.
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Although the dry season will only culminate in August, its impacts have already been felt in many areas. (JP/Seto Wardhana)
W
ith thousands of villages suffering from drought as Indonesia faces an intense dry season this year because of the El Nino weather phenomenon, experts have called on the government to take long-term preventive action by making the most use of rainwater.
The National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) has announced that 55 regencies and cities have declared a drought emergency so far. Those regencies are spread across seven provinces: East Java, Central Java, Yogyakarta, West Java, East Nusa Tenggara and West Nusa Tenggara.
The agency also reported that another 25 regencies and cities in the mentioned provinces, and in Bali, had been affected by drought. In total, drought has affected 1,821 villages across 490 subdistricts as of Monday.
The Agriculture Ministry said earlier this month that drought had affected more than 100,000 hectares of rice fields in about 100 regencies and towns on Java and some other islands, with more than 9,000 ha facing crop failure.
The Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) has predicted that the dry season might last from July to September and peak in August, suggesting that this year's season will be drier and more intense than last year’s, as it coincides with the El Nino phenomenon.
Last year, drought affected 4,053 villages across 888 subdistricts in 111 regencies and cities in 11 provinces.
Jakarta-based water and hydrology expert Fatchy Muhammad said the government should ensure the maximum absorption of rainwater throughout the rainy to provide sufficient water resources during the dry season.
