Six Extreme Climate Events Seen In Riau Last Month

Pekanbaru, Riau, Dec 27 (ANTARA) - The Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) Station in Pekanbaru, Riau, has stated that the region saw six extreme climate events, involving strong winds, heavy rainfalls and extreme temperatures, last month. "The first extreme event in Riau was the 50 millimetres of rainfall in Pekanbaru on November 6," said Warih Budi Lestari, the agency`s analyst, here on Thursday. "That was an extreme event because Pekanbaru rarely has more than 40 millimetres of rainfall per day," he added. Similar extreme events took place in the district on November 6, 9 and 19, and in Indragiri Hulu district on November 10, 18 and 23. Other districts such as Kuantan Singingi, Indragiri Hilir, Meranti and Rokan Hulu also experienced abnormally high rainfall. "As a result, some areas were inundated by floodwaters," Warih pointed out. "Other extreme events involving strong winds blowing at more than 45 kilometres per hour, took place in the city of Pekanbaru on November 4, 5 and 7," he continued. "Also, sometimes we have smog (smoke mixed with fog), when flight visibility is reduced to one kilometre. Such an extreme event occurred in Indragiri Hulu district on November 23," Warih said. �Some extreme climate events involve very high or very low temperatures. On November 14, temperatures soared to 34.2 degrees Celsius, while on November 6 they dropped to 22.3 degrees,� he added.