Jakarta (ANTARA) - The Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) and the Ministry of Forestry discussed early prevention for mitigating the threat of forest and land fires ahead of this year's dry season.
A member of the DTC and deputy for weather modification of the BMKG, Budi Harsoyo, on Friday informed that weather modification operations were one of the options discussed for preventing forest and land fires (karhutla).
"Weather modification operations in provinces prone to forest and land fires are needed to respond to the potential for karhutla during this year's dry season," Harsoyo informed.
Based on the analysis of the BMKG's climatology team, the peak of the 2025 dry season is estimated to last from June to August.
"We have started preparing all the needs to handle this issue, including by forming team from other related institutions," he said.
When compared to the climatological average during the period 1991–2020, the 2025 dry season is predicted to start in the same period as normal in 207 season zones (30 percent), the BMKG said.
It will be late in 204 season zones (29 percent) and early in 104 season zones (22 percent), it added.
The agency informed that the areas predicted to experience a normal dry season are Sumatra, Central Java, East Kalimantan, South Sulawesi, Gorontalo, North Sulawesi, part of Maluku, and part of North Maluku.
At least 60 percent of areas are also expected to experience a normal dry season. They cover most of Sumatra, East Java, Kalimantan, most of Sulawesi, Maluku, and most of Papua Island.
Meanwhile, the areas predicted to experience an above normal dry season are a small part of Aceh, most of Lampung, West and Central Java, Bali, West Nusa Tenggara, East Nusa Tenggara, and a small part of Sulawesi to Central Papua.
Areas forecast to experience below normal dry season characteristics, or be 14 percent drier in climatology terms, are the northern part of Sumatra, a small part of West Kalimantan, Central Sulawesi, North Maluku, and Southern Papua.
