As we know, the climate division exists around the world is divided by latitude. From this climate division, we can also know the various seasons existing and happen on several regions of earth. In general, the climates in the world is divided into 4 types, namely tropical climate, subtropical climate, temperate climate and cold climate.
Indonesia has a nickname as one of the tropical countries due to its location in the latitude between 6º latitude to 11º latitude. And due to that, Indonesia has hot or high temperatures supported by its location close to the equator. The tropical climate in Indonesia makes it only has 2 seasons : the drought and rainy season. It is very different from countries that fall into subtropical to temperate climates where they have 4 seasons in one year.
Talking about drought season and rainy season in Indonesia, of course they have differences. Usually rainy season occurs in tropical climates has moderate to high rainfall. Whereas when drought season arrives it’s a total opposite, rainfall tends to be low and in some places experiences drought. So what exactly is drought season? And what are the characteristics of drought season and countries experiencing it? Let’s look at an explanation of drought season below!
What is Drought Season?
For Indonesians, of course they’re already familiar with this season. Drought season is the same as summer only it lasts long enough. Actually, drought season is a season that only exists in tropical climates such as in Indonesia, which is strongly influenced by the monsoon and can usually be characterized by rare or no rainfall in a certain period of time. The drought season will start from April to October.
What are the Characteristics of the Dry Season?
Keep in mind that we cannot immediately say that some region is experiencing a drought season. We need to know in advance what are the characteristics of drought season and countries experiencing it. Well, the characteristics of drought season are:
- Precipitation of rainfalls is no more than 60 mm per month, or in other words 20 mm per dasarian in a row. Even the intensity can change to become increasingly rare until it doesn’t go down at all.
- During the day, the sun is shining very hot even there are no clouds blocking the arrival of sunlight or no cloudy clouds.
- The temperature is very hot during the day and even it will frequently feel very humid.
- In some places, soil will be found in cracked and dry conditions.
- Many water sources become dry. The flow of river water has shrunk, even the water level in the well is often getting deeper.
- It’s hard to find trees thriving. Many trees shed their leaves and molt.
- Absolute air humidity around becomes high but relative humidity tends to decrease very significantly.
How Can Dry Season Be Longer?
In recent years, Indonesia has experienced quite a longer drought season than usual. When entering rainy season, the drought season doesn’t yet have any signs that it will end. What causes the drought season to be longer? The following causes are :
- A monsoon that carries hot air from Australian Continent
When entering the month of April to October, usually the east monsoon will bring air or hot air coming from the desert region in the Australian Continent. The wind moves through Indonesia, so it is not surprising that Indonesia feels hotter due to the east monsoon. - The geographical condition of Indonesia, which is on the equator
As mentioned above if the equator causes Indonesia to have two seasons. When the drought season arrives, the area near the equator will usually be far from a spring. Even areas that are some distance from the equator usually experience drought. - El Nino
El Nino is a condition of deviation in sea water and can be known from rising temperatures at sea level (SPL / SST) in the Pacific Ocean near the equator. When El Nino happened, the flow of water vapor coming from Indonesia to the Pacific Ocean was quite large. So that the availability of water vapor in Indonesia is reduced. When water vapor decreases, the weather in Indonesia will tend to be cold (especially at night) but dry and cause the dry season to be longer. - Polluted air and natural damage
Forest fires that occur in Indonesia, especially in Kalimantan and Sumatra are not only caused by human activity, but also have a role in increasing the length of drought. Plus at this time the increasingly polluted air conditions also increase global warming or better known as global warming. Environmental damage such as the disappearance of forest land due to the transfer of functions also decreased adding climate change and seasons that occurred in Indonesia.
Forest fires that occur in Indonesia, especially in Kalimantan and Sumatra are not only caused by human activity, but also have a role in increasing the length of drought. Plus at this time the increasingly polluted air conditions also increase global warming or better known as global warming. Environmental damage such as the disappearance of forest land due to the transfer of functions also decreased adding climate change and seasons that occurred in Indonesia.
Countries Experiencing Drought Season
Indonesia is a country experiencing a drought season because it is located on the equator. Apart from Indonesia, there are still some other countries experiencing drought, that is, parts of the United States, all countries in Southeast Asia, South Asia (India, Pakistan), Australia in the east area, and the entire continent of Africa. However, there are several countries that fall into the extreme drought season category, namely:
- Dallol, Ethiopia.
- Badlands, Australia.
- Death Valley, United States.
There is the characteristics of drought season and countries experiencing it. Hopefully the information above can be useful.