Yuli Tri Suwarni, Bandung – Temperature rises of three to four degrees Celsius, phenomena that should take decades to complete, have been recorded in Indonesia in a matter of days, a leading climatologist said Tuesday.
Bandung Institute of Technology climatologist Armi Susandi said the effects of global warming were being felt with weather anomalies in southern Sumatra, Java and central Sulawesi, with rapid temperature increases of four to six degrees that should otherwise take 100 years.
"Extreme climate change due to global warming in the form of northern tropical storms is the main cause of the current prolonged drought in Indonesia," he told reporters.
"The temperature increase of three to four degrees in cities in southern Indonesia is caused by cumulus clouds being sucked to low-pressure areas in the north."
Cumulus clouds consist of rain-making vapor that also serves to block heat from the sun. Only alto-cumulus clouds now remain above Indonesia, Armi went on, with less potential to cause rain, and low humidity, leading to drier conditions.
"During the daytime, heat from the sun reaches the earth unhindered because the vapor has been sucked to low-pressure areas," he said. "It is also hot in the evenings because the radiation has been absorbed and emits long waves in the form of heat waves."
Relative humidity in Jakarta is between 65 and 70 percent, with 70-80 percent in Bandung and only 60 percent in East Nusa Tenggara.
Armi also said that being a maritime country on the equator brought its own uniqueness to Indonesia because the weather could not be predicted precisely by any weather prediction models. "Atmospheric dynamics in Indonesia change very quickly with so many variables influencing them," Armi said.
Armi, who is also the ITB alumni association's task leader for global climate change, said weather uncertainty should be made up for by conducting public preparedness programs to help minimize losses.
"The biggest effect of climate change is public inability to adapt, causing a 10-15 percent decrease in productivity due to weather uncertainty," he said.
Referring to recent high temperatures, Armi said current solar radiation was registering at 440 to 450 watts per square meter, while intensity of 400 watts per square meter was already considered high.
Jaya Murjaya, head of the Meteorology and Geophysics Agency's (BMG) Bandung weather station, said daytime temperatures in the West Java capital were averaging 33-34 degrees, higher than Bandung's annual average of 28-30 degrees.
"It is still categorized as average and has yet to become extreme, because this time last year it was also 33 degrees," he said.
The hottest point in West Java was Jatiwangi, in Subang, with the mercury peaking at 37 degrees on Monday, BMG data shows.