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Jakarta gasps for air: 2019 marks history in fight against severe air pollution
In its 2017 report titled “Jakarta’s Silent Killer” Greenpeace presented data from the US Embassy in Jakarta showing that between January and September that year, Central and South Jakarta had experienced only 14 days of “good” air quality and 34 days of “unhealthy” air.
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Thick smog blankets the high rise buildings in Jakarta's business district around Jl. Sudirman on Oct. 9, 2019. (JP/Dhoni Setiawan)
F
or the longest time, the two main urban woes infamously attached to Indonesia’s capital city Jakarta have been severe traffic congestion and perennial floods, visible and affecting the everyday lives of many Jakartans.
People can see lines of fossil-fueled vehicles clogging the roads and slowing down their mobility. Those living on the river banks have to endure the annual floods, which sometimes force them to stay at temporary shelters until the waters recede and afterward work hard to clean the mud in the aftermath of the floods.
But a third woe plagues the city, one that threatens the blue skies of Jakarta and its satellite cities.
The issue came to light prior to the 2018 Asian Games in August, of which Jakarta served as cohost along with Palembang, South Sumatra, when concerns were raised over the unhealthy level of air quality in the capital city.
Foreign media outlets reported that Jakarta’s air pollution index was so bad that it was feared it would affect athletes. But the government, through the Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG), had quickly denied it, arguing that Jakarta was not in the 10 most polluted cities in the latest research conducted by the World Health Organization (WHO).
However, real-time air quality index AirVisual has shown that throughout this year, the capital has sporadically been ranked as one of the cities with the worst air quality in the world.
The situation was finally brought to light after the issue was discussed in the social media sphere. Among those who initiated the discussion was Twitter figure Aulia Masna, who in June shared data on Jakarta’s air pollution levels classified as unhealthy.
