West Nusa Tenggara Faces Critical Drought Amid Prolonged Dry Season

The prolonged dry season has begun to cause drought in various areas of West Nusa Tenggara (NTB), Indonesia. Three regencies in NTB, namely Bima, Sumbawa, and East Lombok, have declared a drought emergency response status. Meanwhile, six other regencies and cities are on drought alert status. The government's alert status is set to maximize mitigation in the face of the widening threat of drought. The emergency response status is intended to ensure more maximal handling of the drought disaster that has occurred. According to Sadimin, Head of the NTB Regional Disaster Management Agency (BPBD), based on monitoring results, the impact of the drought disaster has provisionally affected 66 sub-districts, 227 villages, 84,837 families, and 263,310 people. As of September 10, 2026, BPBD has distributed 3.3 million liters of clean water to various regions. East Lombok, Sadimin stated, is the most severely affected location by the drought this time, with 92,999 people in 41 villages impacted. Following this is Sumbawa, with 26 villages and 10,703 families or 42,728 people affected across 13 sub-districts. Bima Regency is also affected, with 14 sub-districts, 42 villages, and 9,222 families or 28,894 people impacted. "Almost the entire NTB region is affected, triggered by the El Niño phenomenon," he said. For regencies and cities with alert status, Central Lombok Regency has nine sub-districts and 48 villages with 11,232 families or 33,695 people affected. Dompu Regency has four sub-districts and 10 villages with 3,235 families or 8,940 people affected. North Lombok Regency has five sub-districts and 18 villages with 5,315 families or 17,855 people affected. West Lombok Regency has six sub-districts and 21 villages with 7,474 families or 27,090 people affected. Bima City has four sub-districts and 12 villages with 1,129 families or 3,287 people affected. The water level in the dam in Gunjan Asri Village, North Lombok Regency, has also decreased.