Adianto P. Simamora, Jakarta – Poor city planning and rapid population growth have been blamed for increasingly hot weather in Jakarta over the last 130 years, a study says.
The Geophysics and Meteorology Agency's study has found Jakarta's average temperature rose by 1.4 degrees Celsius over the last 130 years – from 26 degrees in 1870 to 27.4 degrees in 2000 – higher than the average rise of 0.74 degrees worldwide. Jakarta recorded its highest-ever temperature of 36 degrees last year.
The agency's report is the first study of temperature trends in the city from the late 19th century to the present day.
"The finding emphasizes that climate change has occurred here," the agency's head of research and development Mezak Rataq said Thursday.
The agency is to publish the report next month before submitting it to the environment ministry to help formulate the country's report on climate change.
The government will present its country report on climate change during a major international conference on the issue in Bali in December.
"There are many reports from experts making computer-based predictions on climate change in Indonesia but none of them are using real temperatures," said Mezak, who is also a member of the national team for the Bali conference.
He said rising temperatures in the capital would trigger more frequent natural disasters in the future. "We'll see more heavy rains, floods and strong winds in coming years," he said.
The study found that rainfall increased by 13 percent between 1945 to 2000. "Before 1945, average rainfall was between 319 to 356 millimeters per month in the peak rainy season," he said.
He added that by 2000, average rainfall had reached 500 millimeters. Up to 70 percent of Jakarta was inundated in severe flooding in February which killed 37 people.
The BMG is currently calculating long-term temperature trends in a number of cities, including Medan, Surabaya, Denpasar and Palembang. "Most of the provinces in the country do not have records of the last 100 years of temperatures," Mezak said.
An official draft report has found climate change could lead to water shortages across the country and leave coastal areas inundated by rising sea levels. It found a meter rise in sea levels could inundate 405,000 hectares of coastal land and cause the disappearance of some small islands.
Indonesia has about 81,000 kilometers of coastline. As of 1997, around two million people resided in coastal areas. Many industries such as oil and gas exploration, fisheries, agriculture and tourism also operate along the nation's coasts.
The draft also said temperature increase could seriously affect the country's agriculture sector. It said a rise of one degree could decrease rice yields by around 10 percent.