Prof. Adi Susilo, M.Si., Ph.D. a professor of Geophysics at Universitas Brawijaya, said that the heat phenomenon that has occurred in Indonesia recently is caused by very minimal cloud growth, where there are very few clouds so that sunlight directly hits the surface of human skin without any obstructions. This has been going on for quite a long time, according to calculations, this phenomenon will last until next October.
“But that doesn’t mean that this is summer, with the El Nino climate anomaly, there will be no rain, there is still the potential for rain. But it’s not rain that can cause flooding or anything like that.” Prof. said. Adi Susilo to PRASETYA Online.
Prof. Adi said that the impact of the heat in Indonesia from a practical life perspective is that the heat is so intense that it is not healthy for our health or for doing activities outside. So, if you want to leave the room, try wearing sleeved clothes, but avoid wearing dark or black clothes, because clothes in that color can absorb heat, which will cause the heat to be trapped inside and make sweat come out more easily and result in dehydration. Then prepare an umbrella and hat to avoid direct exposure to sunlight.
Extreme hot weather has hit countries in ASEAN recently, temperatures in several Asian countries have increased drastically, especially urban areas are feeling the impact. At the end of April, the city of Manila, which is a metropolitan area in the Philippines with a population of more than 14 million people, reached a temperature of 38.8 degrees Celsius, which was the highest record in their history.
On April 22, high hot temperatures also occurred in Bangladesh, the temperature of Bangladesh reached 43 degrees Celsius which resulted in the government closes elementary schools there. In the same month, Laos also recorded an all-time high temperature record with air temperatures reaching 43.2 degrees Celsius. In Thailand itself, the impact was very serious, as many as 61 people died due to heatstroke caused by hot temperatures reaching 52 degrees Celsius.
However, this still does not show a significant impact in Indonesia itself, the Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) stated that the hot weather occurs in Indonesia is caused by the transition of seasons from the rainy season to the dry season, the hot temperatures that occur in Indonesian territory are a phenomenon resulting from the apparent movement of the sun which is a normal cycle and occurs every year, so that the potential for hot air temperatures like this can also be repeated in the same period every year.
The recent heat wave was caused by several factors, including the apparent movement of the sun at the end of April and early May above a latitude of 10 degrees North Latitude, coinciding with mainland Southeast Asia. This causes the sun to be very hot and provide hot conditions. The next series of factors is the 2022/2024 El Nino climate anomaly. Analysis of historical data shows that when El Nino occurs, there will be a temperature anomaly of up to 2 degrees above normal. The next factor is the influence of global warming, which causes temperatures to continue increased from year to year. [KAN/ UB PR/ Trans. Iir]
