El Niño will affect 80 per cent of Indonesia’s territory, peaking in September. In many provinces, people are enduring drinking water shortages. Farmland is abandoned for lack of irrigation.

Jakarta (AsiaNews) – Indonesia is facing its worst drought in five years, affecting almost 80 per cent of the country. Only the islands of Borneo and Sumatra are the exception; here rain is expected.

Forecasts by Indonesia’s National Institute of Aeronautics and Space (Lembaga Penerbangan dan Antariksa Nasional or LAPAN) are now being felt across South-East Asia.

In its latest report, the latter noted that the index measuring the activities of El Niño in the Pacific Ocean is between 1.5 and 2.5, much higher than in the past when it stood at 1.37.

Drought conditions have led to crop failures in some parts of West Java Province whilst water shortages have been recorded in eastern provinces like in Bali, East Nusa Tenggara (NTT) and West Nusa Tenggara (NTB) with rainfall levels under 50mm per month.

Bogor, a city in West Java popularly known as ‘Rain City’ because of year-round precipitation, is also experiencing water shortages, leading local authorities to urge residents to cut back on water use.

There are only two seasons in Indonesia: a dry season (April-October) and a wet season (October-April). But for the past three years, traditional weather patterns have been disrupted and rain has fallen during dry season.

Officials with the National Board for Disaster Management (Badan Nasional Penanggulangan Bencana or BNPB) said that drought will reach its peak ‘season’ in September.

In Central Java and some parts of East Java, crop failures might be recorded over the coming weeks due to the prolonged dry season.

Even in Bekasi, just 25 kilometres from Jakarta, residents face clean water shortages for their daily needs (like cooking and showers). Many farmers have also given up due to water shortage.

Indonesian President Joko Widodo had promised to make Indonesia self-sufficient in food production within three years; however, the prolonged dry season will hamper his ambition.

In some provinces on the island of Sumatra, especially Riau and Jambi, bush fires have made the prolonged dry season even worse.

Bush fires have been an annual occurrence on Sumatra, prompting Singapore and Malaysia to take issue with Indonesia over the practice, because of its impact on air quality.

In addition, airliners have had to cancel flights on several occasions due to bush fire smoke.

Multinational corporations often use slash and burn techniques to clear land, a practice that can get out of control.

• indonesia
• drought
• fires
• water
• shortage
• el
• nino
• cropping