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Indonesia

Dry spell persists in East Sumba as regency suffers 249 days without rain

Jakarta / Thu, November 21, 2019 / 08:03 pm

Although rain has started to fall in some regions of Indonesia, East Sumba regency in East Nusa Tenggara (NTT) is still experiencing extreme dry season conditions as the area has seen nearly a year without rain.

Apolinaris S. Geru, an official at the Climatology Station in Kupang, said the station had recorded 249 days without rain in the Rambangaru area of East Sumba.

“Our data shows that there has been no rain in the area for 249 days,” Geru said as quoted by kompas.com on Thursday

He said the dry season could be categorized as extreme if a certain area had not experienced rain for more than 60 days.

The regency is the area that suffers the longest period without rain throughout NTT. Aside from Rambangaru, Geru also mentioned several other areas in East Suba regency that were experiencing similar conditions, such as Ori Angu, Kawangu and Kanggih.

Areas elsewhere in the province have also been hit by drought, such as Ngada, Alor, Rote, Sabu Raijua, Kupang, South Central Timor, North Central Timor, Malaka, Belu, as well as Kupang city.

Geru explained that the rainfall analysis in NTT for November showed that the rainfall in the area was at the lowest level, which is 0-50 mm.

Manggarai and East Manggarai regency experienced a medium level of rainfall, at 51 to 150 mm in depth, while West Manggarai has the highest rainfall level at 151 to 200 mm.

“The highest rainfall occurred in Kuwus district, West Manggarai with 156 mm,” Geru said. (dpk)