Indonesia Braces for Thunderstorms, Fog Across Several Cities: BMKG Issues Warning

JAKARTA - The Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) urges the public to be aware of the potential for extreme weather in the form of lightning and light-intensity rain in a number of major cities in Indonesia on Sunday, August 2. "For the western part of Indonesia, it is anticipated that there is a potential for lightning in Padang, then a potential for light rain in Medan, Pekanbaru, Tanjung Pinang, Bengkulu, Pontianak, and Tanjung Selor," said BMKG Bintari A. Prakirawan, quoted by Antara, Sunday morning. Despite the rain warning, BMKG predicts that most other cities in the western region of Indonesia will be dominated by cloudy to cloudy conditions. Bintari said that the potential for cloudy weather could cover the Banda Aceh, Jambi, Palembang, Pangkalpinang, most of Java, Palangka Raya, and Banjarmasin areas. In addition to cloud cover and rain, he also noted the weather condition in the form of hazy air in Bandar Lampung and the potential for smoke or fog that overshadows Samarinda. Turning to monitoring in the eastern Indonesian region, BMKG also predicts light rainfall intensity that will fall in several areas. "For the eastern part of Indonesia, it is anticipated that there is a potential for light rain in Mamuju, Palu, and Nabire," he added, detailing the eastern region. Meanwhile, sunny cloudy and cloudy conditions are potentially dominating other eastern areas which include Denpasar, Kupang, Makassar, Kendari, Gorontalo, Manado, Ternate, Ambon, Manokwari, Jayapura, and Merauke. Not only rainfall and clouds, Bintari also predicts the potential for hazy air in Mataram, as well as the potential for smoke or fog specifically in Sorong and Jayawijaya. Bintari A. reminded that the forecast is a general picture of today's weather. For more complete and updated weather information every hour, the public can monitor the BMKG Info application and the @infobmkg social media account.