Indonesia's Weather Agency Issues Top Drought Alert: 22 Provinces at 'Awas' Level as Dry Season Grips 76% of the Country
JAKARTA — Indonesia's Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) issued an early warning of meteorological drought on October 12 for the second ten-day period of October (11–20), placing parts of 22 provinces at its highest alert level, 'Awas' (alert). The warning, posted on the agency's official social media account on Monday, comes as about 76 percent of Indonesia remains in the grip of the dry season.
The highest-alert areas include Bali, Banten, Jakarta, West Java, Central Java, East Java, South Kalimantan, Central Kalimantan, the Bangka Belitung Islands, Lampung, Maluku, North Maluku, West Nusa Tenggara, South Papua, South Sulawesi, Central Sulawesi, Southeast Sulawesi, South Sumatra, all of the Special Region of Yogyakarta, Gorontalo, North Sulawesi and East Nusa Tenggara. Parts of several provinces are also at the lower 'Siaga' (standby) and 'Waspada' (watch) levels.
BMKG warned the conditions could lead to clean-water shortages and an increased risk of forest and land fires — compounding the country's worst wildfire season in 11 years. A powerful El Niño has made this dry season exceptionally long, and smoke from fires in Kalimantan and Sumatra has drifted over Malaysia and Singapore for days.
For an agricultural nation, drought bears directly on the planting and harvest of staples such as rice and on the livelihoods of tens of millions of farmers. Regional governments have been told to arrange water supplies in advance and to guard strictly against land burning and wildfires. BMKG updates its drought monitoring every ten days; when the rainy season truly arrives is the weather question the whole country will be watching in the coming weeks.
Sources: Compiled from CNBC Indonesia's report and Jawawa's summary of BMKG's official warning issued October 12, 2026.
Source: GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 印尼一块因两周无雨而开裂的稻田，Joko Wardani 摄，CC BY-SA 4.0（Wikimedia Commons）
