Anwar Siswadi (Contributor), Bandung – At least 39.4 percent of the West Java area is presently suffering from extreme drought, according to the Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysics Agency (BMKG). The West Java Climatology Station recorded more than 60 days without rain. Padalarang and Plumbon in Cirebon have even experienced almost 100 days without rain.

In the last ten days, the area of extreme drought in West Java was 36 percent. Other regions facing severe dry weather include Bekasi, Karawang, Indramayu, Cirebon City, Cirebon Regency, Majalengka, Kuningan, Sukabumi, Cianjur, and Garut.

Rakhmat Setia, the head of the West Java Climatology Station, said the rainy season will begin in November 2023 based on the analysis of atmospheric dynamics and climate forecast.

"The rainy season will come later than usual," Rakhmat said in a statement on Thursday, September 21, 2023.

The BMKG predicted that only 9.8 percent of the four seasonal zones of the province would see the rainy season in the first and second ten days of October. The zones include a small part of southern Garut, western Tasikmalaya, western and southern Bogor, northwestern Cianjur, northeastern Sukabumi, central and southeastern Purwakarta, and a small part of southern Subang.

At the beginning of November, the rainy season will shower 80.5 percent of the provincial area or 33 season zones, including western and eastern Bogor, Depok City, most of Sukabumi, Bekasi, southern Karawang, most of Subang and Purwakarta, Cianjur, West Bandung, Cimahi City, Bandung Regency, Bandung City, Sumedang, most of Garut, Indramayu, Cirebon, Majalengka, Kuningan, Ciamis, Banjar City, Tasikmalaya, Tasikmalaya City, and Pangandaran.

In December, the rainy season spread to 7.3 percent more areas or three seasonal zones, namely eastern Cirebon, northern Bekasi, northern Karawang, northern Bekasi City, a small part of northern Cirebon, and southeastern Indramayu. "The 85 percent of West Java areas will have mostly normal rainfall," Rakhmat said.

Source: https://en.tempo.co/read/1774637/extreme-drought-hits-nearly-40-of-west-jav