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Air quality worsens in Greater Jakarta as govt yet to curb pollution
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Tanjung Priok Port in North Jakarta is shrouded in haze from pollution on June 15, 2024. (Antara/Sulthony Hasanuddin)
W
orsening air quality in Greater Jakarta has brought to light the government’s unfulfilled responsibility to ensure citizens’ right to clean air and to curb emissions from coal-fired power plants and motor vehicles.
The Environmental Ministry reported that the Air Pollutant Standard Index (ISPU) in several areas in and around capital Jakarta had fallen into the “unhealthy” category on Tuesday. So did their readings for several Greater Jakarta areas on Sunday.
The ministry identified motor vehicle emissions as the main source of pollution, contributing up to 57 percent during the dry season. Coal-fired industrial activities accounted for 14 percent, dust from construction sites 13 percent, open burning 9 percent and the rest came from secondary aerosols formed by atmospheric reactions of pollutant gases.
Real-time monitoring by Swiss air quality technology company IQAir recorded that air quality readings in Jakarta were at “unhealthy” levels, between 153 and 159, for three days last week. While the air quality slightly improved on Sunday, to 142, classified as unhealthy for sensitive groups, Jakarta remained the fourth most polluted city in the world.
Several regions on the outskirts of Jakarta, such as South Tangerang in Banten and Bekasi and Depok in West Java also recorded poor scores, with the pattern persisting in recent weeks.
Many people took to social media to share images of the smog-covered skyline and IQAir readings in their areas, voicing concern over the worsening pollution and the health risks it imposes.
Greenpeace campaigner Yenny Silvia Sirait said that the poor air quality “stemmed from the lack of initiatives and regulations to reduce the use of coal-fired power plants surrounding Jakarta”, coupled with rising use of private cars and lack of green public transport.
