August 2019 has been the peak of the dry season in 28 provinces in Indonesia affecting nearly 48 million people. 

Located on the equator line, and between Asia and Australia, Indonesia has only two seasons — rain and dry. The dry season is usually between March to September, while the rainy season lasts from September to March.

Hydro-meteorological disasters have over many years dominated natural disasters in Indonesia, which is often flooded during the rainy season and very dry, and remains extremely dry in certain regions during the dry season.

Based upon data from the National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BPBN), droughts hit Banten, West Java, Central Java, DI Yogyakarta, East Java, NTB, NTT, and Lampung last year, with some 4.87 million people being affected. The drought hit 4,053 villages in 888 sub-districts located in 111 districts and cities in 11 provinces.

On Java Island, the prolonged dry season triggered wildfires in forest areas located on the slopes of several mountains in Central, East, and West Java Provinces.

“Regions which were affected by droughts during the June, July and August period of last year, should be vigilant this year,” Adi Ripalsi, head of the agency’s climate information analysis sub-unit, said in Jakarta on June 21, 2019, adding, “Last year, the precipitation during the dry season was less than 20 millimeters a month, and this year, it could go lower.”

In Central Java, some 360 villages in 31 of the province’s 35 districts are prone to drought this year. Even as Central Java has begun to experience its dry season since early June, eight villages in the Banyumas District have already begun facing a water crisis.

At least 48 million people are threatened by drought in the dry season this year. Seven provinces are alerted for drought emergency, including Banten, West Java, Central of Java, Yogyakarta, East Java, West Nusa Tenggara, and East Nusa Tenggara. [BNPB, July 2019]