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Toxic air could cut Jakartans' lives by 2.3 years, says EPIC study
A March 2019 report from the Energy Policy Institute at the University of Chicago (EPIC) says that Indonesians could expect to lose 1.2 years of life expectancy, while Jakartans could lose nearly double that at 2.3 years of life expectancy.
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Buildings stand amid the smog covering Jakarta on Aug. 9, 2019. (Antara/Aditya Pradana Putra)
W
ondering if the severe air pollution blanketing the Jakarta sky might negatively impact your respiratory system? Wonder no more, as a recent study reveals that the city's air pollution may also shorten the lives of its residents by more than two years.
The latest Air Quality Life Index (AQLI), issued in March by the Energy Policy Institute at the University of Chicago (EPIC), shows that Jakartans can expect to cut 2.3 years off their life expectancy if 2016 pollution levels are sustained over their lifetime.
The AQLI says that air quality was not a pressing problem in Indonesia 20 years ago, but air quality in the country had declined substantially since then.
“From 1998 to 2016, the country went from being one of the cleaner countries in the world to one of the 20 most polluted, as particulate air pollution concentrations increased 171 percent,” the report states.
Other than Jakarta, where the air pollution is caused mostly by vehicle gas emissions, the report also points to similar threats in several other provinces caused by forest and peatland fires, among others.
If the current air pollution level is sustained, residents in Sumatra and Kalimantan could expect 4 years of average life expectancy loss, while residents in Ogan Komering Ilir in Palembang, South Sumatra, could expect the highest average life expectancy loss at 5.6 years.
The AQLI highlights some gradual measures the Indonesian government has taken to address the problem, including in 2017, when it required all gasoline-fueled vehicles to adopt Euro-4 fuel standards by September 2018.
