Indonesian Environment and Forestry Minister Siti Nurbaya Bakar. (Photo: antaranews.com)Jakarta (VNA) - The Indonesian government hasprepared 15 aircrafts for carrying out weather modification operations toprevent forest and land fires, as a number of provinces have declared a state ofemergency in view of the disasters.
Environment and Forestry Minister Siti Nurbaya Bakar onJune 15 said that the provinces comprise Riau, South Sumatra, Jambi, WestKalimantan, East Nusa Tenggara, Central Kalimantan, and South Kalimantan.
According to Bakar, the government has decided tocarry out weather modification from April to June 2023 to maintain the wetnessof peatlands in the provinces of Riau, Jambi, South Sumatra, East NusaTenggara, and West Kalimantan.
The ministry revealed that the number of fires usuallyincreases from March to April, and the number of cases falls in the followingmonth. The number then rises again from June to August and reaches the highestlevel in mid-September.
Earlier, Indonesia's Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) projectedthat the dry season in 2023 will follow the same pattern as the one seen in2019. A total of 28% of regions in Indonesia, which include 194seasonal zones (ZOM) determined by the BMKG, are expected to experience the dryseason starting in June this year.
According to BMKG head Dwikorita Karnawati, the ElNino phenomenon, which is getting stronger due to the positive phase of theIndian Ocean Dipole (IOD), could trigger a drought during the dry season inIndonesia.
On June 12, the Indonesian National Agency for Disaster Countermeasure, (BNPB)warned risks of drought in parts of Java island, as well as provinces ofBali, West Nusa Tenggara and East Nusa Tenggara./.
