The Public Increasingly Feels the Impact of Climate Change
The high frequency of disasters in Indonesia means that all regions in this country are not immune from the risk of natural disasters.
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The following article was translated using both Microsoft Azure Open AI and Google Translation AI. The original article can be found in Publik Makin Merasakan Dampak Perubahan Iklim
The evacuation process was carried out on Monday (8/1/2024) for a resident who was buried by a landslide in Kampung Cipondok, Pasanggrahan Village, Kasomalang District, Subang Regency, West Java. Unfortunately, two people died in this incident.
The phenomenon of changing climate is increasingly putting heavy pressure on environmental degradation. Floods, landslides, fires, scarcity of water resources, and crop failure due to drought are forms of climate anomaly threats that often occur recently. -This end.
The high frequency of disasters in Indonesia means that all regions in this country are not immune from the risk of natural disasters. The risk for each individual is at an alarming level because natural disasters can occur at any time. The impact of climate change is increasingly being felt by the Indonesian people.
Based on the Kompas poll on 18-20 December 2023, the majority of respondents (88.4 percent) believed that the impact of climate change in 2023 would be much more pronounced than in previous years. Respondents stated that the most significant impact felt was that the climate and seasons were becoming more uncertain.
Climate anomalies and seasonal changes have resulted in the emergence of numerous extreme weather events that are dangerous. Throughout the year 2023, there were 4,938 natural disasters in Indonesia. There are three disasters that are most fatal in Indonesia, namely forest and land fires with 1,802 occurrences, floods with 1,168 occurrences, and 1,155 occurrences of extreme weather.
The disaster resulted in at least 265 fatalities, 33 people have been declared missing, and 5,783 individuals were injured due to the impact of the disaster. Additionally, there were approximately 8.85 million people who had to evacuate due to their homes being damaged.
One of the most felt impacts is the extreme heat in several cities in Indonesia in September 2023. The Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) recorded daily temperatures even reaching 38 degrees Celsius. The effects are not only a hotter climate, but also affect the body, making it more easily tired and dehydrated.
Santi Wulandari, a doctor at one of the private hospitals in Central Jakarta, mentioned that the air feels much hotter compared to previous years' dry season. Dust and pollution are also denser, making it difficult to breathe. Santi, who commutes almost two hours daily from Tangerang Selatan to Central Jakarta using public transportation and ride-hailing motorcycles, feels the negative effects of this natural phenomenon.
"The hot weather definitely feels more scorching. The body feels tired more quickly, the head is spinning, and it's uncomfortable to breathe. Until my asthma relapsed due to my body being in a weakened state because of the hot weather," said Santi on Sunday (7/1/2024)."
Not only felt by Santi, but extreme heat weather is also felt by thousands of other residents in several locations. BMKG stated that the extreme heat weather occurred due to the minimal growth phase of rain clouds due to the strengthening of El Nino and the apparent position of the Sun moving towards the southern side of the Earth.
Also read: Local Governments Need to Improve Disaster Anticipation During the Rainy Season
Another impact of climate change is crop failure in a number of national rice barns due to severe drought. The results of Kompas's R&D analysis in October 2023 show that every 1 degree Celsius increase in air temperature a year will reduce rice production by around 4,500 tons in Indonesia.
This analysis was conducted through panel data regression modeling to see a number of variables that affect rice production in Indonesia. The regression combines four years of time series data from 2002-2022 and cross section data from 34 provinces. This analysis uses variables that have a strong influence on rice production, including air temperature.
The phenomenon of rising temperatures followed by droughts and crop failures is being felt by rice farmers in Pilang Village, Pulang Pisau Regency, Central Kalimantan; farmers in Purwosari Village, Barito Kuala Regency, South Kalimantan; and farmers in Karangsetia Village, Bekasi Regency, West Java.
"Her land is cracked and extremely dry, as if there is no water at all. There is no water from below, and no rainfall from above. We feel confused and can only cry as we see our 1-hectare rice field suffer from crop failure," said Misdiana (57), a farmer from Pilang Village, Pulang Pisau Regency when met at her home on Tuesday (10/3/2023)."
Besides drought, climate anomalies also trigger floods in several areas. The disaster data of the National Disaster Management Agency (BNPB) from January 1 to 9, 2024, recorded 40 disasters. Twenty-five of them were floods. One of the flood disasters occurred in Simangulampe Village, Humbang Hasundutan District, North Sumatra, on Saturday (2/12/2023). The disaster claimed 2 lives and 10 others are still missing due to being swept away by the currents.
Indonesia Outlook 2024
BMKG has released the results of their analysis through the "Climate Outlook 2024", which contains a projection of the national weather and climate conditions throughout the year 2024. The study shows that, in general, there will be climate disturbances from the Pacific Ocean, namely a weak to moderate level of El Niño in the early part of the year. This anomaly will continue until the end of the year before eventually entering a neutral phase.
Despite El Nino's predicted continuation until 2024, BMKG sees a small chance of the emergence of La Nina anomaly causing wetter climates or increased rainfall. In addition to La Nina, there is also the neutral level Indian Ocean Dipole phenomenon throughout 2024.
The El Nino phase at a weak to moderate level influences the amount of rainfall which tends to be normal. Even though rainfall is normal, there are several areas that have rainfall above normal so there is a risk of hydrometeorological disasters. This area is spread across the southern side of Sumatra Island, the western side of Kalimantan Island, the north-central side of Papua Island, and small parts of Java and Sulawesi Island.
Also read: Hydrometeorological Disasters and Mountain Eruptions Always Lurk in Indonesia
It appears that officials from the Regional Disaster Management Agency (BPBD) are currently undertaking efforts to evacuate residents affected by flooding in the Karawang Regency, West Java on Sunday (1/7/2024). A total of 2,298 residents have been affected by the flooding in Karawang.
Meanwhile, areas with below normal rainfall are concentrated on the northern and eastern sides of Java Island, the Nusa Tenggara Islands, the northern side of Sulawesi Island, and the southern part of Papua Island. The low rainfall poses a risk of causing droughts in various regions of Indonesia. The biggest impact is the risk of crop failure in the agricultural lands of communities.
One important anticipation that needs to be done is the optimization of water resources infrastructure functions in urban and rural areas. The infrastructure includes drainage systems, water infiltration, and water storage such as reservoirs. Hydro-meteorological disasters always threaten several locations in Indonesia. Planning mitigation efforts is crucial, especially since BMKG has predicted many weather and climate anomalies that will occur throughout the year 2024.
Global landscape
This phenomenon is not only happening in Indonesia, but also throughout the world. 2023 is set to be one of the deadliest years due to the massive impact of climate change. The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) states that 2023 breaks climate records with the hottest temperatures in 174 years of monitoring Earth's temperature fluctuations.
It is no wonder that the impact caused is enormous and leaves a trail of living space destruction for millions of people. Extreme heat hits many regions of the world. The hottest period occurred in mid-July 2023. At that time, the temperature in Italy reached 48.2 degrees Celsius, Tunisia at 49 degrees Celsius, Morocco at 50.4 degrees Celsius, and Algeria at 49.2 degrees Celsius.
Also read: Extreme Weather Potential to Occur in Early to Mid January 2024
The photo taken on June 16, 2023 shows a number of glacier researchers from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology conducting a survey at the Rhome Glacier in Grom, Switzerland. According to a GLOMS report, Switzerland has lost 10 percent of its glacier volume in just two years.
Another impact of extreme heat is forest fires. One example of a massive fire occurred in Canada, affecting an area as large as 18.5 million hectares.
Global warming which has reached the boiling period indicates that the increase in temperature will continue. Prof. Petteri Taalas, Secretary General of WMO, said that greenhouse gases, global temperatures and sea level rise had reached their highest point.
Global warming and the increasingly severe climate anomalies demand relevant and radical control impact transformation. One important component in reducing disaster impact is building effective multi-hazard early warning systems. The development and implementation of disaster risk reduction strategies need to be a priority for all regions.
Therefore, policy makers from the central to regional levels need to increase vigilance and implement an early warning system based on the latest science and technology. In this way, the threat of disaster to human life can be suppressed and anticipated as optimally as possible. (R&D COMPAS)
