Viral Tornado in the Sea of ​​Sand of Mount Bromo, Here’s the Scientific Explanation

MALANG – The phenomenon of a sand tornado appeared in the Mount Bromo area. The wind appeared in the sea of ​​sand, but only on some sides, not in the entire area of ​​the sea of ​​sand. This incident was recorded by a tourist’s camera and uploaded on social media.

The incident investigation took place on Tuesday afternoon (16/7/2024). A gust of wind resembling a tornado made of sand was seen on the TikTok social media account @ladubromo. In the 1 minute 5 second video, dust from the ground was flying, making visibility in the area limited.

Forecaster of the Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) Climatology Station Linda Fitrotul Muzayanah revealed that the strong wind resembling a tornado was called a dust devil. However, the difference with tornadoes, which are caused by cumulonimbus clouds, this wind is caused by very hot air particles above the ground.

“Yesterday the air was dry, there was no cumulonimbus, so according to science it was a dust devil. A dust devil is a small but strong air vortex, it is formed in very hot dry air. So the air on the surface of the ground is unstable, which is very hot later rise quickly,” said Linda Fitrotul Muzayanah, confirmed on Wednesday afternoon (17/7/2024).

This strong wind phenomenon often follows the dry season plus the El Nino phenomenon factor. Where the wind blows from the east, then brings a dry air period in the dry season, making the wind stronger.

“In the dry season, the wind blows from the east, then it brings dry air masses from the eastern region to Asia, so it is indeed stronger in the dry season,” he said.

BMKG Malang Climatology Station notes, this phenomenon also occurred in 2019 in Batu City. Even a tornado made of sand occurred in the Mount Bromo area in October 2023. This is because the drier air period makes the ground surface pressure unstable.

“So that makes the air in Indonesia drier, this also happens in Batu, strong winds until the apple orchards fall out,” he said.

(msf)