Jakarta, June 29 -- Home Affairs Minister Tito Karnavian on Monday urged regional governments to prepare for the projected El Nino period from July through October 2026, warning of heightened risks of drought, water shortages, and forest and land fires.

Speaking in Jakarta, Tito called on regional administrations to coordinate with disaster management agencies, agriculture offices and water resources authorities to strengthen mitigation efforts at provincial, district and city levels.

He said El Nino could trigger forest and land fires while reducing water supplies in several parts of the country.

Tito said the government has compiled data from the Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG), the National Disaster Mitigation ...