This extreme drought threat is directly linked to a heightened risk of forest and land fires,
Jakarta (ANTARA) – Indonesia’s weather agency predicts that a strong El Niño will persist into early 2027, worsening drought conditions and increasing wildfire risks across major islands, including Java, Sumatra, and Kalimantan, officials said here on Thursday.
Teuku Faisal Fathani, head of the Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysics Agency (BMKG), warned during a press briefing in Jakarta that the climate pattern could be further intensified by a positive Indian Ocean Dipole later this year.
“This climate outlook aligns with BMKG’s projections that El Niño will persist until early 2027, bringing drier-than-normal conditions throughout the dry season,” Fathani said.
By mid-July, more than half of Indonesia’s seasonal zones—covering 54.5 percent of the country’s landmass—had already entered the dry season.
Officials expect drought conditions to peak between August and September, with hundreds of districts likely to experience an unusually prolonged dry spell.
“This extreme drought threat is directly linked to a heightened risk of forest and land fires. BMKG has already recorded more than 4,900 hotspots as of late July,” Fathani noted.
In response, the agency is expanding Weather Modification Operations, commonly known as artificial rainmaking, across fire-prone provinces such as South Sumatra, Central Kalimantan, and Riau.
Fathani added that BMKG is coordinating with the National Disaster Management Agency, the military, the police, and environmental authorities to combine aerial cloud-seeding operations with ground-based firefighting efforts.
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Translator: M. Riezko Bima Elko Prasetyo, Aditya Eko Sigit Wic
Editor: M Razi Rahman
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