Indonesia set to experience rising temperatures, solar culmination

Suhendar, 32, a Jakarta Public Facility Maintenance Agency (PPSU) cleaner in Cideng, Gambir, Central Jakarta, spent more money on bottled water on Tuesday to stay hydrated.

Unlike his usual consumption of around two bottles of water at work, he drank four bottles that day as temperatures reached 37 degrees Celsius.

“My skin felt like it was burning. I drank more water than usual,” he told The Jakarta Post on Wednesday.

The hot weather was almost unbearable and very different compared to previous days, according to Suhendar, who spends most of his time on the road.

The sizzling heat, however, did not stop him from carrying out his duties, sweeping the streets around Tanah Abang Market in Central Jakarta.

Ummu Sakiinah, who works for a private company in South Jakarta, agreed that the weather was hotter than usual.

The 27-year-old spoke to the Post about the time she left her office with several coworkers at around 3 p.m. on Tuesday to buy snacks.

“We checked the temperature on our phone once we arrived at the convenience store; it was around 35 degrees Celsius,” she said, adding that she immediately felt the difference.

The head of information for climate and air quality at the Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG), Siswanto, told the Post that the increase in temperatures was likely due to the sun crossing the equator from north to south.

Known as a solar culmination or vernal equinox, this is a natural phenomenon that occurs when the sun is exactly above the equator, to the extent that shadows of objects on the Earth’s surface disappear. The phenomenon takes place twice a year.

According to BMKG projections, Indonesia’s first solar culmination occurred from Feb. 22 to April 5. The second is predicted to take place from Sept. 8 through Oct. 21.

“When the sun’s position is almost perpendicular to a location, the sun’s radiation hitting the Earth's surface is at its maximum, which directly increases temperatures,” Siswanto said.

And because the phenomenon is taking place in the middle of the dry season, temperatures are even higher than usual.

"[Human] skin can feel the blistering sun and dry air, especially during days without rainfall, because the humidity drastically decreases,” he said.

The lack of humidity provides little cloud cover, resulting in direct exposure to the sun and making it feel as if our skin is burning or pinching.

“Today, the highest temperature recorded across the nation was in Ciputat, Tangerang, where it was 38 degrees. In Jakarta, it was 36 degrees,” Siswanto said.

He added that in the previous solar culmination, the agency recorded temperatures of between 32 degrees and 35 degrees, even though there was one day in May when it soared to 37 degrees.

Due to the sizzling hot weather, Siswanto urged residents to drink more water and apply sunscreen before going outside because the sun emitted higher levels of ultraviolet radiation.

“Also, please beware of fires, especially in densely packed residential areas,” he said.

According to the BMKG, coastal areas of Sumatra and Kalimantan, as well as parts of Sulawesi and Papua, will enter the rainy season in October. Meanwhile, the rainy season in Java and Bali is predicted to start in November.

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