VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

Jakarta (voinews): The Ministry of Public Works and Public Housing (PUPR) is taking anticipatory measures to handle the potential for drought in several provinces this year.

"This year, we will prepare to handle drought by drilling 37 (water) points in 19 provinces that are predicted to experience drought. We will start the work in March," the ministry's director general of water resources Jarot Widyoko informed at a press conference in Jakarta on Wednesday.

He said that his office will coordinate with the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources (ESDM) regarding the matter.

“We inventory our drill tools around 26 units," Widyoko added.

He said that his ministry is also ready to ensure the utilization of the storage volume in dams.

In addition, the PUPR Ministry is also ready to carry out operations and maintenance activities, as well as the rehabilitation of existing wells, he informed.

Earlier, the Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) forecast low-intensity rainfall in several parts of Indonesia in the coming months.

In view of this, sectors related to water intake such as water resources, forestry, agriculture, and disaster, must take anticipatory steps to minimize the potential impact of drought as a consequence of low rainfall conditions, Widyoko added.

He noted that after experiencing La Nina conditions for three consecutive years from 2020 to 2022, which resulted in a wet climate in the past three years, the latest monitoring of sea surface temperatures in the Pacific Ocean has shown that the intensity of La Nina has continued to weaken, with the index reaching -0.61 in early February 2023.

It has been predicted that La Nina conditions will continue to weaken and shift toward neutral conditions in February–March 2023. The neutral conditions are expected to continue until mid-2023, he added.

These conditions can cause the dry season in 2023 to be drier than in the past three years. Thus, there is greater potential for areas experiencing rainfall of less than 100 mm per month, Widyoko informed. (Antaranews)