EFFECT OF CLIMATE ANOMALY IN 2023 DRY SEASON ON RAINFALL, GROUNDWATER LEVEL, SOIL MOISTURE AND HOTSPOT ON PEATLANDS

Abstract

Climate anomalies observed in 2023 in Indonesia were caused by the simultaneous occurrence of two natural phenomena, including IOD+ (Positive Indian Ocean Dipole) and El Niño. Therefore, this research aimed to analyze the effect of the two phenomena on the parameters of rainfall, groundwater level, soil moisture, and hotspots during the dry season from July to October 2023. The data used for the first three types of parameters were obtained from the OKI-2 measuring station in Ogan Komering Ilir (OKI) Regency, and the hotspot data came from the MODIS satellite, which were both processed graphically and statistically. The results showed that there was very minimal rainfall in the 2023 dry season, even zero rainfall was recorded in October 2023. Additionally, the groundwater level decreased drastically, and the depth reached -1.23 m on October 10. The lowest soil moisture was only 11.21% on October 24, transforming peat soil to become very dry and flammable, while the highest hotspots (486) occurred in October. From July to October 2023, the average rate of decrease in groundwater level and soil moisture was 0.74 cm/day and 0.25%/day, respectively. A significant correlation was found between groundwater level (GWL) and soil moisture (SM), represented by the empirical equation SM = 27,654 GWL + 60,245.