Indonesian Environment and Forestry Minister Siti Nurbaya Bakar. (Photo: antaranews.com) Jakarta (VNA) - The Indonesian government has prepared 15 aircrafts for carrying out weather modification operations to prevent forest and land fires, as a number of provinces have declared a state of emergency in view of the disasters.
Environment and Forestry Minister Siti Nurbaya Bakar on June 15 said that the provinces comprise Riau, South Sumatra, Jambi, West Kalimantan, East Nusa Tenggara, Central Kalimantan, and South Kalimantan.
According to Bakar, the government has decided to carry out weather modification from April to June 2023 to maintain the wetness of peatlands in the provinces of Riau, Jambi, South Sumatra, East Nusa Tenggara, and West Kalimantan.
The ministry revealed that the number of fires usually increases from March to April, and the number of cases falls in the following month. The number then rises again from June to August and reaches the highest level in mid-September.
Earlier, Indonesia's Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) projected that the dry season in 2023 will follow the same pattern as the one seen in 2019. A total of 28% of regions in Indonesia, which include 194 seasonal zones (ZOM) determined by the BMKG, are expected to experience the dry season starting in June this year.
According to BMKG head Dwikorita Karnawati, the El Nino phenomenon, which is getting stronger due to the positive phase of the Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD), could trigger a drought during the dry season in Indonesia.
On June 12, the Indonesian National Agency for Disaster Countermeasure, (BNPB) warned risks of drought in parts of Java island, as well as provinces of Bali, West Nusa Tenggara and East Nusa Tenggara./.
