Extreme Weather and Drought in Papua Hingland : Indigenous Community Still Need a Lot of Help

Extreme weather phenomena in the form of hail have occurred again in the Mountainous Papua Province, this event is an accumulation that continues to recur if the weather in Mountainous Papua increases.

Local authorities stated that there were at least four districts that were severely affected, including Kuyawage, Gowaloem, and West Wano Districts on Sunday, August 16, 2026.This extreme weather pattern also hit a number of highland and sheltered areas in Papua New Guinea (PNG) as reported by RNZ Pasifik 20/08/2026.

This disaster is not the first time for indigenous peoples in the Papua Pengungan region, and Central Papua Province.A number of dearh that are most vulnerable to this disaster include Lanny Jaya Regency, Puncak Jaya, Puncak Papua, Intan Jaya, Tembagapura City, and Paniai Regency.

The most often felt impact is crop failure, house roofs collapse due to a large amount of rain pressure and pets are victims because they are unable to survive in extreme weather. This was also stated by the chairman of BMKG Papua Province, Arif, the topographical conditions of Lanny Jaya and Puncak which are at an altitude of more than 3,000 meters above sea level (masl) also affect the occurrence of hail. Reporting from kompas.com(24/8/2026).

Meanwhile, other impacts felt by local residents are the destruction of crops and plantations that have failed to harvest completely due to frost and ice sheets 5-15 cm thick hitting residents’ crops. This threat triggers a food crisis and hunger and the loss of the main food source for a long time.