August 2026 was Indonesia’s Second-Driest August since 1991

RRI.CO.ID, Jakarta - Indonesia recorded its second-driest August since 1991, according to the Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG). BMKG meteorological and geophysical observer Leni Nazarudin said on Thursday, October 1, 2026, that rainfall across most parts of the country fell into the low category.

At the “The Tourism Industry in Action to Combat Climate Change” webinar, Leni said rainfall in August 2026 was generally low across Indonesia, with 83.99 percent of the country’s territory recording low rainfall. Only 0.87 percent recorded high rainfall, while very high rainfall was recorded in just 0.04 percent of the country.

“Rainfall in August 2026 made it the second-driest month on record since 1991,” she said.

She said the areas recording very high rainfall were limited to parts of Aceh and North Sumatra in northern Indonesia. Meanwhile, rainfall patterns across most of the country remained below normal during the month.

“Rainfall in August 2026 generally fell into the ‘low’ category across 83.99% of Indonesia’s territory,” she said.

The agency also recorded below-normal rainfall conditions across 90.86 percent of Indonesia in August. Above-normal rainfall was recorded across only 2.30 percent of the country, including small parts of Aceh, West Sumatra, West Java and Papua.

The dry conditions continued into September, with BMKG analysis showing that 87.53 percent of Indonesia had low rainfall during the second ten-day period of September, while 86.62 percent experienced below-normal rainfall. BMKG also said the dry season had become increasingly evident since the third ten-day period of May.