Indonesian urban poor suffer the most in extreme weather caused by climate change

Extreme weather as a result of climate change has caused disasters and catastrophes around the globe.

In mid-2023, flash floods inundated roads and displaced millions in the US, South Korea, Pakistan and Turkey. Asia has seen more than 100 deaths during this year’s extreme monsoon season. In Northern India, fatal floods following heavy rains resulted in the deaths of 22 people.

In Indonesia, severe floods in April 2023 struck Central Kalimantan Province, impacting 16,234 people. Numerous homes and public buildings were also affected.

In our research, we looked at how extreme weather had impacted urban areas.

Urban poor and water-related problems

We studied three flood-prone cities in Indonesia: Pontianak (West Kalimantan Province), Bima (West Nusa Tenggara Province) and Manado (West Sulawesi Province).

We used fieldwork visits, observations, interviews and document analysis. We interviewed 57 informants during the data collection process, including government actors, community leaders, civil society organisation activists, and business people.

Our research aimed to understand how urban development contributed to urban water problems within the wider context of extreme weather change.

Read the Indonesian version of the article here.