TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) noted that 43 percent of the area in West Java is experiencing extreme drought, receiving no rainfall for more than 60 days. The area monitored throughout August 2026 has increased by 6 percent compared to July.
According to the report from the West Java Climatology Station of BMKG, an extreme drought has been detected in the northern coastal areas, from Bekasi and Karawang to Subang, Indramayu, Cirebon, Kuningan, and Majalengka. Similar indications are also found in Sumedang, Sukabumi Regency, Cianjur, and southern Garut. The longest period without rainfall so far, reaching 100 days, occurred in Losari District, Cirebon Regency.
In the latest monitoring, BMKG West Java also recorded 6 percent of areas with very long drought. Areas without rainfall for 31-60 days are scattered in several locations in Pangandaran and Bogor Regency.
Even during the dry season, 25 percent of West Java experiences a very short period without rainfall, ranging from one to five days. The areas include Bogor Regency and City, Depok, around the border areas of Karawang and Subang, Purwakarta, West Bandung Regency, and central Cianjur. Meanwhile, Bandung City, Sumedang, Tasikmalaya Regency, and Pangandaran are still regularly showered with rain.
Rossian Nursiddiq, a weather forecaster at BMKG West Java, predicted that rainfall in West Java during the first ten days of September 2026 will be low and below normal. "The potential for light rain is still predicted to occur locally in some areas of West Java," he said in an official statement on Monday, August 31, 2026.
El Nino Suppresses Rainfall Opportunities
Based on the latest global climate analysis, he mentioned that El Nino has reached an extreme index of +2.3. This figure shows that the number of rain clouds in the sky over parts of Indonesia, including West Java, is decreasing. With atmospheric stability categorized as light to moderate, the chances of rainfall are decreasing.
The Head of the Regional Disaster Management Agency (BPBD) of West Java, Teten Ali Mulku Engkun, stated that there have been 132 forest fire incidents in his working area until August 24, 2026. The burnt area in these incidents reached 196.40 hectares.
In West Java, referring to BPBD records, karhutla is spread across 19 regencies and cities, 91 sub-districts, and 153 villages or urban wards. Considering that the peak of the dry season may not end until September, the authorities are increasingly vigilant against new fire incidents. "The intensity of the incidents has been increasing since June," said Teten.
According to Teten, the majority of forest fire incidents occurred in dry land, shrubs, grass, litter, waste disposal sites, and easily flammable vegetation. Fires often arise due to human activities, particularly from cigarette butts, waste burning, and land clearing.
"For example, the incident in Subang Regency on August 9, 2026, when the fire from waste burning spread and burned two hectares of bamboo plantation," he said.
From August 24, 2026, until that date, the BPBD recorded 588,534 people—equivalent to 181,484 families—from 440 villages and urban wards in 189 subdistricts affected by water scarcity. Of this total number, 200,743 people reside in Bogor Regency.
A total of 72,165 people in Bekasi Regency are affected by a similar drought. Additionally, 49,593 people in Purwakarta Regency, 31,769 people in Bandung Regency, and 29,014 people in Tasikmalaya Regency are affected. Additionally, there are 31,037 people in Sukabumi City and 24,315 people in Karawang Regency. "The total distribution of clean water (in West Java) has reached 13 million liters," said Teten.
Read: BPBD: Sumedang Records the Most Forest Fires in West Java
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