Indonesia’s weather agency has warned the government to stay alert for the weather conditions and updates as the country brace for severe weather conditions in this week, urging regional governments to take serious actions in climate change mitigation.
The Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysical Agency (BMKG) issued a warning that 27 provinces in Indonesia will expect to experience extreme weather for the week, with moderate to heavy rainfall intensities.
“For the short term, regional administrations and the affected sectors must be prepared for early warnings from the BMKG,” said Mr Ardhasena Sopaheluwakan, BMKG Head of Information Service on Applied Climate said in an interview with MetroTV on 14 August.
Head of BMKG Dwikorita Karnawati had earlier demanded a full commitment from regional governments to adapt and mitigate climate change which is contributed by massive developments in the provinces.
“Climate change’s mitigation and adaptation actions require political commitment because they have to be started from regional governments and implemented in mid-term regional development plans (RPJMD),” Ms Dwikorita stated in a press release on 6 August.
She added that regents, mayors, and governors must be well-prepared for the worst possible impact of climate change such as drought, flood, tropical cyclone, and landslides which are predicted to occur more frequently with stronger intensity.
Ms Dwikorita raised concerns about the rising temperature as cited from the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) when the temperature in 2020 was one of the three hottest years recorded.
The BMKG analysis revealed that Indonesia’s air temperature is estimated to rise 0.9 degrees in the next 30 years.
Furthermore, the agency cautioned to prepare for the worst scenario as the climate change has resulted in such as the melting ice of Mt.Jayawijaya, Papua.
Research cited in The Conversation said glacial surface at the ice-covered peaks have shrunk 84.9 per cent since 1988.
A drought can cause forest and land fire, which leads to a rise in carbon emissions. From January to September 2019, 857,000 hectares of land had been burnt as data from the Ministry of Environment and Forestry showed.
Dwikorita said that the meteorology agency is continuing to innovate by improving information dissemination systems and its technology for monitoring, observation, and early warnings.
“We are focusing on innovation such as modernization of maritime weather data processing and observation equipment, aviation, public weather and climate integrated into a single platform,” she said in the National Coordinating Meeting (Rakorbangnas) on 29 July.
