Bandung, Indonesia Sentinel — The Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) in Bandung has provided an explanation regarding the recent strong winds affecting West Java, attributing the phenomenon to Tropical Cyclone Taliah.
Teguh Rahayu, head of BMKG Bandung, stated that Cyclone Taliah was detected in the southern Indian Ocean off Central Java, with maximum wind speeds reaching 65 knots (120 kilometers per hour).
However, the tropical cyclone is expected to weaken over the next days as it moves westward, further away from Indonesia. Despite this, the system has indirectly influenced weather and maritime conditions across the country, including in West Java.
“The indirect impacts include an increase in wind speeds and higher waves in the southern waters of West Java,” Rahayu said on Thursday (February 6, 2025), as reported by Republika.
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High Waves Warning
Meanwhile, BMKG’s central office has issued an early warning for high waves, which are expected to affect several maritime regions from February 5-8, 2025.
Wind patterns in northern Indonesia are generally moving from the northwest to northeast at speeds ranging from 6 to 25 knots. In southern Indonesia, winds are predominantly moving from the southwest to northwest at speeds between 8 and 30 knots.
The highest wind speeds have been observed in the western Indian Ocean off Lampung, the southern Indian Ocean off Java, and the Arafura Sea.
These conditions have led to waves reaching 1.25 to 2.5 meters in several areas, including the northern Malacca Strait, the western Indian Ocean off Aceh and the Mentawai Islands, the Karimata Strait, the southern Sunda Strait, the Java Sea, the Sumbawa Sea, the Flores Sea, the Makassar Strait, the eastern Sulawesi Sea, the Maluku Sea, the Seram Sea, the Banda Sea, and the northern and eastern Arafura Sea.
Higher waves, ranging from 2.5 to 4.0 meters, are likely in the western Indian Ocean off Bengkulu and Lampung, the southern Indian Ocean off Java and East Nusa Tenggara, the northern Natuna Sea, the northern Pacific Ocean off Maluku and Papua, and the western and central Arafura Sea.
“The potential for high waves in these areas poses a risk to maritime safety,” BMKG warned.
(Raidi/Agung)
