Indonesia
is an archipelago made up of over 17,000 islands.
Although all these islands lie within equatorial latitudes, the fact
that they are strung out over a distance of some 2,500 miles (4,200
km) means that there are considerable variations in the weather conditions
between the islands at any one time.
Many of the world’s most active volcanoes are found in this region,
and with many mountain peaks in excess of 3,500m (12,000 ft) there
can be considerable variation in temperature and rainfall between
inland areas and the coastal regions.
Between May and September the archipelago’s weather is dominated by
the southerly monsoon which blows from the Indian Ocean and Australasia.
For Java and Bali this period corresponds to the drier months.
Although one day in five or six can still yield some very heavy showers,
weather conditions are generally hotter, drier and less humid than
during the rest of the year.
The northerly monsoon between November and March sees winds blowing
from China and the North Pacific.
Rainfall can be extremely heavy during this time and flash floods
can result in loss of life. During this time heavy rain can be expected
on most days.
The rainfall extremes of the eastern islands (Celebes has 10mm in
August and 686mm in January) contrast with Sumatra and the North Moluccas.
The former has heavy rain throughout the year, whilst the bulk of
the rainfall in the Moluccas occurs during June and July.
Although temperatures on all the islands reach between 29 and 32 Celsius
(85 to 89F), it is worth remembering that inland plateaux and mountains
can be several degrees cooler.
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| The bustling
city of Jakarta |
Watching the
sunrise over Mount Bromo is popular with tourists on Java. But night-time
temperatures can be very close to freezing at this altitude and
as the sun rises, strong anabatic winds can make for a marked windchill.
Generally, although it can be very hot at times, humidity levels
are not especially high. Heat stress is rarely a problem.
Only in some of the major cities, such as Jakarta, can the combination
of heat, humidity and car pollution produce really uncomfortable
conditions.
The only other consideration during the drier months is the threat
caused by forest fires. These are usually started deliberately in
order to clear land for agriculture but it has had an impact on
the tourist industry in recent years.
There is usually plenty of sunshine throughout the year. As the
bulk of the rain tends to come from heavy showers and thunderstorms
(parts of Indonesia have some of the highest thunderstorm frequencies
in the world) that leaves plenty of time for the sun to shine.
Thankfully, only the southern islands, such as Timor, are affected
by tropical cyclones.
Richard Angwin
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