Indonesia forecasts wet season will start early November, later than expected

JAKARTA – Indonesia is expected to experience a shorter than usual rainy season in 2026 starting in November, the weather agency said on Sept 22, with the El Nino weather pattern to last until the first quarter of 2027.The agency previously forecast it would come in October, when the wet season usually starts. About 61 per cent of Indonesia’s land area will experience the delayed rainy season, agency chief Teuku Faisal Fathani told a press conference.The wet season is estimated to come early November in most areas of Indonesia, including some parts of Kalimantan and the islands of Sumatra, Java and Sulawesi, Teuku said.The extended dry season had contributed to Indonesia’s most intense wildfires in 11 years as “super El Nino” weather drives up temperatures and causes droughts.Fires burnt 202,000 hectares (499,153 acres) of land between January and July, official figures show, while environmental group YKAN estimates an additional 600,000 hectares were affected in August.The weather agency advised the food sector to adjust planting schedules and choose crop varieties with shorter growing cycles to anticipate the prolonged dry season.The wet season will peak in most parts of Indonesia in December, with heavy rain still likely in January and February 2027.The El Nino weather pattern was still having a strong impact in most parts of Indonesia during September, another official Ardhasena Sopaheluwakan said, adding the phenomenon is estimated to last until the first quarter, but its impact on drought will end when the wet season comes. REUTERS