High tides expected to continue for a week

JAKARTA (The Jakarta Post): The Meteorology and Geophysics Agency (BMG) said large waves that have been pounding the southern coastlines of Java, Sumatra and Bali since Thursday have weakened, but are expected to continue for another week.

The agency said the waves were caused by persistent winds from the Indian Ocean coinciding with the arrival of the lunar tide.

The head of the maritime meteorology information subsection at the BMG, Suratno, said Monday high atmospheric pressure in the southern part of the world, especially in the Indian Ocean, and low atmospheric pressure in the northern part of the world, especially in India and Japan, had caused strong southerly winds, which subsequently had caused massive waves around Indonesia.

"High atmospheric pressure causes only normal winds of between 25 to 30 knots, but because this is persistent, it has caused massive waves," Suratno told The Jakarta Post after a closed-door meeting to discuss the phenomenon. (Matheos Viktor)