Frost that appeared due to a drop in temperature to minus 7 degrees Celsius envelopes the Arjuna Temple complex, in the Dieng highlands, Banjarnegara, Central Java, on June 25, 2019. - Photo: Antara file
CENTRAL JAVA, (Indonesia): Just as Indonesia enters the peak of the dry season, a number of highlands in Java have been covered in what appears at first glance to be snow, attracting curious visitors seeking to experience the unusual phenomenon.
The Dieng Plateau in Central Java, for example, has seen temperatures drop to minus 1 degree Celsius, far below the average temperature of between 12 and 20 degrees, according to the authorities.
As a result, frost has blanketed the popular tourist destination in Banjarnegara regency in the morning and at night.
The chilly weather has led people to flock to Mount Bromo National Park in East Java, where frost has been sweeping over its black sand dunes, turning them white.
Residents of the southern parts of tropical Indonesia have apparently experienced more chilly weather than usual in the past week, as the Australian cold monsoon causes the region’s temperatures to fall amid the peak of the dry season.
Residents of West Java, Yogyakarta and Bali have also reported feeling colder weather, particularly in the morning and at night, with several cities recording between 3- and 4-degree temperature drops in the past few days.
On Sunday (July 14), temperatures in Bandung in West Java dropped to around 16 degree Celsius, lower than last year's average July temperature of around 18 degrees.
Yogyakarta, meanwhile, noted temperatures between 19 and 23 degrees, a significant drop when compared with an annual average temperature of 26 degrees.
The Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) said the colder weather was a very common phenomenon during the dry season and it usually happened every year.
"The Javanese call the phenomenon mbedhidhing," the BMKG’s meteorology deputy, Guswanto, said on Sunday as reported by Kompas.com.
He added that mbedhidhing happened because neighbouring Australia was experiencing the peak of winter at the moment, and the movement of air masses from the continent brought dry, cold winds to the southern part of the archipelago.
The wind also passed over the Indian Ocean, which is typically colder than the land in Indonesia.
The colder temperatures brought by the Australian monsoon are exacerbated by the fact that, during the dry season, there are fewer clouds to trap heat from the sun, causing temperatures to drop quite drastically at night.
Clouds act as an “atmospheric blanket” that helps to regulate the temperature on the Earth’s surface.
During the day, clouds reflect a portion of the solar energy that reaches Earth back into space and help cool down the planet.
Meanwhile, at night, they absorb the heat released by the surface and radiate it back to the land.
Guswanto said that the mbedhidhing phenomenon would continue to occur during the peak of the dry season in July and August and would probably last until September.
According to Guswanto mountainous and high-altitude regions across Java Island, such as the Bromo mountains, Wonosobo and Temanggung regency in Central Java, as well as Lembang and Bandung in West Java, will see more extreme drops in temperatures compared with other places. - The Jakarta Post/ANN
