Following the establishment of drought alert status by the National Disaster Management Agency (BNPB) in five provinces, IPB University Meteorologist Sonni Setiawan, SSi, MSi, reminded the importance of preparedness for the 2025 dry season.
Sonni said that the drought remains at risk of causing various serious impacts, despite the potential for local rain due to the sunspot phenomenon.
The lecturer at the Department of Geophysics and Meteorology, Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences (FMIPA) IPB University explained that the basic pattern of seasons in Indonesia is influenced by the movement of monsoon winds.
“In Indonesia, the seasons are generally divided into the rainy season caused by the Asian monsoon, and the dry season caused by the Australian monsoon,” Sonni explained. He added that the dry season caused by the Australian monsoon usually lasts from June to August.
However, according to Sonni, this year’s dry season is characterized by a wet dry season. “This year is a ‘wet drought’ due to the sunspot phenomenon which can increase rainfall indirectly,” he explained. Nonetheless, he emphasized, “The basic character of the dry season remains a dry period.”
Sonni also warned that the typical impacts of the dry season still need to be watched out for. “Drought can cause an increase in air temperature and a decrease in air humidity due to the lack of evaporation of water from the soil surface and plants,” he said.
He also mentioned that in the dry season, there is always the potential for an increase in dust particles and pollutants, resulting in a decrease in air quality, as well as health risks such as acute respiratory infections (ARI), especially in urban areas.
For mitigation, Sonni recommended the use of public transportation to reduce pollution, soil and water conservation, and the use of drought-resistant crops. he also emphasized that phenomena such as sunspots have an 11-year cycle, so weather patterns like this could recur in the future.
Although localized rainfall is possible during the 2025 drought, Sonni emphasized that the community and government still need to be alert. The drought alert status set by BNPB is not without reason.
“The sunspot phenomenon does provide the possibility of rain, but it is uneven and does not guarantee that the affected areas will be free from drought,” he concluded. (Fj) (IAAS/NRA)
