Kupastuntas.co, Bandar Lampung - During September 2023, the Lampung Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) noted that there were six areas in Lampung Province that were in the extreme drought category with the number of days without rain above 60 days. These areas are spread across four districts, namely Pringsewu, Pesawaran, Mesuji and East Lampung (Lamtim).

Based on monitoring data for consecutive days without rain in September 2023, Lampung Province which was posted on the Instagram account @bmkglampung, Tuesday (3/10), six areas hit by extreme drought include Pandan Surat Village, Sukoharjo District, Pringsewu Regency with 68 days without rain. Rain; Cipadang Village and Way Awi Village, Gedong Tataan District, Pesawaran Regency with 68 days without rain.

Then, Gedung Ram Village, Tanjung Raya District, Mesuji Regency with 68 days without rain; Bukoposo Village, Way Serdang District, Mesuji Regency with 61 days without rain.

Furthermore, Buana Sakti Village, Batanghari District, East Lampung Regency with 80 days without rain; Purworejo Village, Negeri Katon District and Sukodadi Village, Gedong Tataan District, Pesawaran Regency with 67 days without rain.

Meanwhile, areas in the very long category (31 - 30 days) in the classification of the number of days without rain still dominate in Lampung Province, namely more than 30 percent.

Meanwhile, the analysis of rainfall in the same period generally varies from low rainfall of 0 millimeters (mm) to high rainfall of 75 mm. Where the highest rainfall occurs in Bukit Kemuning (62 mm).

Coordinator for Data and Information at the BMKG Lampung Meteorological Station, Rudi Harianto, said that six areas in Lampung in the extreme drought category had less rainfall than the normal 30-year average.

"So the weather forecast is drier for this area. "From the global dynamics of the El Nino phenomenon that we are currently monitoring, it is still in the moderate category with an index of +1.6, in particular the Lampung region has relatively little cloud growth or cloud-forming periods that have the potential for rain," said Rudi, Tuesday (3/10/2023) .

Rudi further explained that his party estimates that until October 2023, the amount of rainfall will still be very low, namely 0-50 mm per month, with rainfall below normal.

However, in November 2023 the potential for rainfall will start to be in the low to medium range of 51–150 mm per month even though the nature of the rain is still below normal.

And in December, the forecast for the Lampung Province region is that the rain criteria will be medium, and almost all areas of Lampung will have experienced rainfall.

"The start of the rainy season does not coincide, at the end of October in the West Lampung region it will be the start of the rainy season, and in early November West Lampung," he explained.

“Mid to late November in the Mesuji, Tulang Bawang, West Tulangbawang, North Lampung, Central Lampung, Metro areas. The southern part of Lampung mid to late December, namely South Lampung, Bandar Lampung. "So statistically it's down to one month from the normal average," he explained.

Meanwhile, a number of farmers in West Lampung Regency (Lambar) experienced crop failure because their rice plants did not receive a water supply.

Eko, a farmer in Pekon (Village) Sumber Agung, Suoh District, Lambar, said that for almost three months there had been no rain, which resulted in the rice plants drying out.

"The condition of the rice fields is now broken because they don't get water. As a result, most of the rice plants are also dry and the harvest has failed," said Eko, Tuesday (3/10/2023).

Eko revealed that rice production had fallen by 50 percent compared to before. "Usually I can get 20-30 bags of rice from a quarter hectare of my agricultural land. Now I only get 10-15 bags of rice," he said.

Toto, a vegetable farmer in Pekon Padang Dalom, Balik Bukit District, expressed the same thing, where his vegetable crops lacked water supply.

"Right now farmers are getting around this by buying water from traders. But thank God, I still use pond water. Usually the farmers buy it at a price ranging from IDR 12 thousand to IDR 15 thousand for a full drum," he said. (*)