Jakarta. Five regencies in West Nusa Tenggara (NTB) have entered drought alert status due to the ongoing dry season.

These include Dompu Regency, covering Kilo and Pajo Districts; Bima Regency, covering Lambitu, Lambu, Sape, and Soromandi Districts; and East Lombok Regency, particularly Sambelia District.

Drought alert status also applies to Sumbawa Regency, covering Labuhan Badas, North Moyo, Rhee, and Sumbawa Districts; as well as West Sumbawa Regency, specifically Jereweh District.

"All regions in NTB are now experiencing the dry season. The public should be aware of the potential for hydrometeorological disasters such as droughts and forest and land fires," said Afriyas Ulfah, a forecaster at the Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) Climate Station in West Nusa Tenggara, as quoted by Antara on Monday.

Afriyas explained that the current drought is a result of consecutive dry days in recent weeks. Monitoring results show that the number of consecutive dry days in NTB generally ranges from 1–5 days up to 21–30 days without rain.

However, some areas are experiencing very long dry spells of 31–60 days without rain. The Rhee Rain Post in Sumbawa Regency recorded 51 consecutive days without rainfall.

Afriyas added that the potential for rain during the first ten-day period (dasarian) of August -- from August 1 to 10 -- is very low, with rainfall above 20 millimeters per dasarian occurring in less than 10% of the entire NTB region.

"People are encouraged to make use of any rainfall to fill water reservoirs such as ponds, dams, or other rainwater storage facilities," Afriyas stated.

She also mentioned that the Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD) index during the last dasarian showed a minus 0.38 value, indicating a neutral IOD phase, which is predicted to persist through the second half of 2025.

Meanwhile, the sea surface temperature anomaly in the Nino3.4 region showed an index of minus 0.12. This indicates a neutral ENSO condition, which is also expected to remain neutral through the second half of 2025.

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