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View all search resultsBorderless pollution chokes Greater Jakarta as policy gaps persist
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Visitors look at the National Monument (Monas) against a backdrop of air pollution, from the balcony of the National Library on Jl. Medan Merdeka Selatan on Sunday in Central Jakarta. (JP/Iqro Rinaldi)
A
s urban air pollution continues to travel across Greater Jakarta, threatening public health and burdening the economy, authorities in the region are facing greater pressure to establish an integrated framework to tackle mounting borderless pollutants.
Greater Jakarta has long been plagued by severe smog that forces its 42 million residents to breathe unhealthy air almost every day.
On Sunday afternoon, the level of microscopic toxic particles known as PM2.5 reached around 66 micrograms per cubic meter (µg/m3) in Jakarta, according to data from Swiss-based air quality monitoring company IQAir. The PM2 level was around 13 times higher than the safety limit set by the World Health Organization (WHO).
But a new study led by air quality management professor Puji Lestari of Bandung Institute of Technology (ITB) has recorded a large share of additional pollutants entering the capital from its suburbs, making pollution an interconnected problem across the region.
Pollutants from neighboring Tangerang in Banten, as well as from Bogor, Depok and Bekasi in West Java have contributed to around 38 percent of PM2.5 pollution in Jakarta, according to the study.
”Since pollution knows no borders, our response must move beyond administrative boundaries,” Puji said on Thursday during a discussion hosted by climate foundation ViriyaENB.
”Air pollution in Greater Jakarta must be managed through a single and unified air quality framework,” she added.
