Stormy weather expected due to warming seas: Indonesina meteorology agency

Stormy skies ahead this week: BMKG
Adianto P. Simamora, The Jakarta Post 24 May 10;

Heavy rain and thunder is likely to hit the country this week due to rising sea temperatures caused by global warming, say climate experts.

The Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) said the recent heavy downpours in some provinces, including Jakarta, were unusual just before the transition to dry season.

Head of the BMKG's climate center Edvin Aldrian, said the BMKG also recorded heavy downpours late at night in several areas.

"It is very unusual to have heavy downpours late at night during the transition or dry period. Such heavy rain usually only occurs in rainy season," he told The Jakarta Post on Sunday.

Edvin said the unusual downpours would likely hit Java, the northern part of Sumatra and the eastern part of Kalimantan this week.

The BMKG warned that heavy rains with strong winds and thunder would hit Bogor and Tangerang on Monday.

The coming of heavy downpours confirms that global warming has affected Indonesia and could lead to more extreme changes in weather, said Edvin.

Climate scientists said that global warming had triggered several anomalies including rising sea levels and increased sea surface temperatures.

The rise in sea temperatures is conducive to more cloud.

The BMKG predicted earlier that 19 percent of the country would likely face an early dry season in late March or May with most areas likely to have a normal dry season in June.

In normal dry season, said Edvin, rains generally ceased at 7 p.m. at the latest.

Climate expert from Bogor Institute of Agriculture (IPB) Sobri Effendi, said the unpredictable rainfall was due to global warming.

"The current heavy downpours are no longer normal. This is proof of global warming," he told the Post.

"In Indonesia, the impact of global warming may come in the form of unusual heavy rains. In other countries it could be the coming of snow," he said.

He said the BMKG needed to improve its weather predictions to help people adapt to extreme changes in weather.

The government has said that Indonesia with its huge island is prone to the effects of global warming.

Climate change could cause extreme changes in weather conditions, which could impact the lives of millions of people in agriculture and fishery sectors, said the BMKG.

The government has promised to mitigate climate change, pledging to cut emission by 26 percent by 2020.

Scientists from the BMKG and the US plan to investigate climate changes by analyzing ice cores from glaciers on Mount Jayawijaya, near Puncak Jaya, Papua.

Puncak Jaya is home to the only glaciers remaining in the equatorial Pacific Ocean region.