Government Prepares Water Bombing and OMC to Handle El Niño

RRI.CO.ID, Jakarta - The government is enhancing preparedness to face the potential of forest and land fires (karhutla) amid the threat of a strong El Nino phenomenon projected to occur in Indonesia. A number of handling measures have been prepared, including the deployment of water bombing helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft to support Weather Modification Operations (WMO).

The Minister of Forestry, Raja Juli Antoni, said that weather conditions characterized by limited humidity and rain clouds can increase the risk of forest and land fires. Therefore, the government needs public support to prevent fires from the ground level.

"Warning from BMKG, we are entering a very difficult phase, El Nino is very strong, with potential threats similar to those in 2015. The government continues to deploy all efforts. There are water bombing helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft on standby for Weather Modification Operations (WMO), Raja Juli said in Jakarta, Wednesday, August 13, 2026.

According to the Minister of Forestry, the government will continue to deploy all resources to anticipate and address forest and land fires thru cross-ministerial and agency coordination as well as local government collaboration. However, these efforts must be accompanied by public awareness and participation in environmental protection.

"The government will be present with all its strength, coordinating under the Coordinating Ministry and all Ministries/Agencies as well as the regions. However, we earnestly request the participation of the community to jointly protect our environment and not to play with fire," he said.

The warning about the threat of forest and land fires was conveyed by Raja Juli during the signing of the RBP REDD+ GCF-2 fund distribution agreement for 10 provinces. The disbursement of these funds is part of efforts to strengthen forest protection thru a performance-based funding mechanism.

The ten provinces receiving the funds include Papua, North Kalimantan, East Kalimantan, Bangka Belitung Islands, West Nusa Tenggara, Aceh, Mountain Papua, Maluku, South Sulawesi, and South Papua.