The park’s science and technology demonstration center launched the Ozone Educational Attraction during a commemoration of International Day for the Preservation of the Ozone Layer on Monday, at a time when air quality throughout the country continues to weaken.

“We need to educate people about the ozone layer early on [for children], so school-age children can understand what things damage the ozone layer and care about it and play an active part in preserving the ozone layer,” Environment and Forestry Ministry Climate Change Control Director General Ruandha Agung Sugardiman said in a written statement on Monday.

“This attraction will give simple and deep explanations so we can understand the importance of the ozone layer,” he said.

Inside the attraction, visitors will learn about the ozone layer, what everyday items can damage ozone, what products are friendly to ozone, how to restore ozone and how to participate in protecting the ozone layer.

Interactive displays have also been built to make learning more engaging.

The ministry has also invited the public to commemorate three decades of international efforts to save the ozone layer, enshrined in the Montreal Protocol.

The theme of the 2019 International Day for the Preservation of the Ozone Layer was “32 Years and Healing”.

The ozone layer is located 20 to 35 kilometers above sea level and can absorb 97 to 99 percent of the sun’s ultraviolet light, which can damage life on Earth’s surface.

Protecting the ozone layer reduces the effects of UV-B radiation on the health of human and other life forms, as well as the environment, Ruandha said.

“Let’s be ozone heroes and preserve the ozone layer that protects life on earth from ultraviolet B light,” Ruandha said.

Meanwhile, Jakarta has repeatedly been ranked the world's most polluted city based on real-time air quality monitor AirVisual.

On Monday afternoon, Jakarta was ranked the eighth worst in terms of air quality with a 105 US Air Quality Index and 37.2 micrograms per cubic meter of particulate matter 2.5 concentration in the air.

Meanwhile, Jakarta’s ground-level ozone has almost exceeded the safe limit of 120 parts per billion (pbb), with the latest data on March 9 showing an average of 80 pbb and more than 100 pbb at maximum.

The latest Air Quality Life Index (AQLI), issued in March by the Energy Policy Institute at the University of Chicago, United States, showed that Jakartans could expect to see their life expectancy cut by 2.3 years if 2016 pollution levels were sustained over their lifetime.

Meanwhile, residents in the Ibukota (Capital City) movement have filed a civil lawsuit to the Central Jakarta District Court to demand authorities do more improve air quality in the capital.

Jakarta currently has five fixed stations for air quality monitoring in each municipality. Three of these measure fine particulate matter smaller than 2.5 microns in diameter (PM 2.5), namely in Kota in West Jakarta, Hotel Indonesia traffic circle in Central Jakarta and Jagakarsa in South Jakarta.

This year, the administration plans to add two more PM 2.5 measurement devices in Kebon Jeruk, West Jakarta, and Lubang Buaya, East Jakarta. Next year, the city plans to buy eight PM 2.5 monitoring systems.

To curb Jakarta's polluted air, Jakarta Governor Anies Baswedan issued Gubernatorial Instruction No. 66/2019 on air quality control.

Measures included in the instruction are the expansion of the odd-even traffic policy, an age limit for public transportation and privately owned vehicles, tighter emission tests, tighter controls on industrial chimneys and the increased use of pollutant-absorbing plants.

Air quality in Kalimantan and Sumatra has also deteriorated due to ongoing forest fires. Sampit in Central Kalimantan, for example, recorded a PM10 concentration level of 473 434 µg/m3, much higher than the safe limit of 150 µg/m3.

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