TheJakartaPost
Please Update your browser
Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.
Just click on the icons to get to the download page.
Popular Reads
Top Results
No results found. Please check your search term and try again
Can't find what you're looking for?
View all search results
Popular Reads
Top Results
No results found. Please check your search term and try again
Can't find what you're looking for?
View all search resultsOutdoor workers face rising health risks amid dry season
As the dry season is creeping in and projected to be longer and drier due to El Niño, workers who spend most of their time outside may face higher risks of heat-related disease alongside other health conditions, such as respiratory infection.
Change text size
Gift Premium Articles
to Anyone
Share the best of The Jakarta Post with friends, family, or colleagues. As a subscriber, you can gift 3 to 5 articles each month that anyone can read—no subscription needed!
Workers pave a walkway to a housing project with pebbles on April 23 in Senen, Jakarta. The Public Housing and Settlements Ministry will build 324 housing units with public bathrooms, 'musholla' (prayer rooms) and kitchens for squatters who lived along the railway track in the area. (Antara/Sulthony Hasanuddin)
T
he upcoming dry season, which is predicted to be longer and drier due to the impact of El Niño, has raised concerns about health risks faced by many Jakartans, especially those who must continue working outdoors under the heat.
Outdoor workers in the capital city include ojol (online motorcycle transportation) drivers such as Joko Suprianto, 34, who needs to ride through Jakarta’s streets everyday transporting passengers and goods.
While health authorities urge people to avoid being outdoors during midday, he has little choice but to endure the heat, which he feels has been rising in the past month or two, to earn a living.
“It already feels very hot by 9 a.m. and stays that way until late afternoon,” Joko told The Jakarta Post, adding fellow ojol drivers have also been complaining about similar conditions.
According to the Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency’s (BMKG) record, Jakarta’s average temperature in March this year is 0.5 degrees Celsius higher compared to the pattern in the same month from 1991 to 2020.
Meanwhile, the agency’s calculation on the temperature humidity index in Central Jakarta on March 31 at 10 a.m. was recorded at 27 degrees Celsius and classified in the “Uncomfortable” category. The index combines the temperature and humidity of a place at a specific time to assess the risk of heat stress on humans.
