JAKARTA (Reuters) – Indonesia is expecting higher than usual rainfall to continue this year, its weather agency BMKG said, although the amount will be lower than that recorded in 2021.
The agriculture sector could take advantage of the higher rainfall, the agency said late on Monday, but warned the public to take action to mitigate impacts of potential disasters like storms, floods and landslides.
Indonesia’s lucrative mining and agricultural sectors are deeply affected by its weather.
Heavy rains last year – which were 70% to 100% higher than normal levels – caused disruption in Indonesia’s main coal mining areas and led to a government official estimating coal production short of its target.
BMKG head Dwikorita Karnawati in a statement said 2,500 millimetres of rain is predicted during 2022, with Sumatra, Banten, West Java, Central Java, Kalimantan, Sulawesi and Papua most affected.
Rainfall will come at above normal levels from January to October and will reduce to lower than normal levels in November and December, Dwikorita added.
The agency’s deputy head of climatology Urip Haryoko said Indonesia will experience moderate La Nina conditions for the first half of the year, with the weather pattern neutral in the second half.
(Reporting by Bernadette Chritina Munthe; Writing by Fathin Ungku; Editing by Martin Petty)
