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Greater Jakarta air increasingly polluted
If you notice that the sky is less than blue and feel an urge to don a mask, it is probably because the air quality in the Indonesian capital has significantly worsened over the past two years, according to AirVisual, which monitors air quality in cities the world over
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If you notice that the sky is less than blue and feel an urge to don a mask, it is probably because the air quality in the Indonesian capital has significantly worsened over the past two years, according to AirVisual, which monitors air quality in cities the world over.
The 2019 World Air Quality Report published on Tuesday shows that the air over Jakarta has become increasingly polluted since 2018 and hit a new low in 2019.
The report is based on AirVisual's real-time aggregated data on air quality, which is gathered from ground-based air monitoring stations that measure fine particulate matter less than 2.5 micrometers, or PM2.5.
PM2.5 particulates are small enough to breathe in through the nose and could go even deeper into the alveoli, the air sacs in the lungs where the process of exchanging oxygen for carbon dioxide in the bloodstream occurs.
The 2019 report ranks Indonesia first among Southeast Asian countries for the worst air pollution, and sixth out of the 98 countries AirVisual monitors around the globe.
Meanwhile, the Indonesian capital ranks as the fifth most polluted city in Southeast Asia. Throughout 2019, Jakarta also maintained its fifth ranking as the most polluted capital city in the world, jumping five places from its 10th world ranking in 2018.
The four slots above it are also Indonesian cities with South Tangerang (Banten) topping the list, followed by Bekasi (West Java), Pekanbaru (Riau) and Pontianak (West Kalimantan).
The report showed that Jakarta's air pollution had increased 66 percent over the past two years, with the annual mean concentration of PM2.5 increasing from 29.7 micrograms per cubic meter (mcg/m3) in 2017 to 49.4 mcg/m3 in 2019.
"In 2019, [Jakarta] residents were exposed to more than three times the amount of hours in the 'Unhealthy' range [US AQI 150+]," the report stated.
"Unhealthy" refers to an air quality index (AQI) range of between 151 to 200, equivalent to 55.5 mcg/m3 and 150.4 mcg/m3, far higher than the standard for maximum daily exposure to PM2.5 of 25 mcg/m3 as set by the World Health Organization.
Two of Jakarta’s satellite cities, South Tangerang and Bekasi, recorded the highest average PM2.5 levels per annum at respectively 81.3 mcg/m3 and 62.6 mcg/m3, the report said, falling well within the unhealthy level.
In response, Jakarta Environment Agency head Andono Warih said that the city would "intensify" its air pollution control at the source.
He added that the administration had made a variety of efforts to tackle the worsening air quality, citing the 2019 gubernatorial instruction on air quality control.
The instruction stipulates measures and guidance for relevant agencies in addressing the city's woeful air quality.
“The administration is in the process of realizing the integration of public transportation modes with requisite [environmental] facilities that are currently being developed,” Andono told The Jakarta Post on Monday.
Transportation contributed up to 70 percent of the city's air pollution, followed by industries with 15 percent, according to the environment agency.
“The [air quality control] measures cannot be realized in just one or two years,” Andono added.
He did not provide any details on the administration's 2020 targets for reducing air pollution, saying only that it was looking “to achieve better air quality”.
Meanwhile, the administrations of the other cities mentioned in the report questioned the accuracy of its data, claiming that the air quality in their cities were "safe".
The environmental control and management head of the South Tangerang Environment Agency, Tedi Krisna, said that city's air quality monitoring results in 2019 met the standards of the Environment and Forestry Ministry.
“[The AirVisual report] might not match the real condition, because the air quality in South Tangerang has met the standard for all parameters, including PM2.5,” he said, referring to Government Regulation No. 41/1999 on air pollution control.
Bekasi Environment Agency secretary Kustantinah also questioned the validity of the report.
“How do they get the data? PM2.5 monitoring is commonly obligatory for industries only. Ambient air quality [monitoring] uses the PM10 parameter,” she said.
The severe air pollution has been in the headlines since 2018, following AirVisual's reports on the unhealthy air quality in Jakarta and several neighboring regions.
The issue gained traction last year, when Tim Advokasi Gerakan Ibukota (Jakarta Movement Advocacy Team), a public movement, filed a historic civil suit on July 4, 2019 with the Central Jakarta District Court. The lawsuit, which was filed against the central government and the Jakarta, West Java and Banten administrations, demanded better coordination in the efforts to improve the air quality in Greater Jakarta.
The court held its first hearing over the civil suit on Oct. 17. Another hearing was held in December after five failed mediation attempts in October-November.
Tubagus Soleh Ahmadi, who chairs the Jakarta office of the Indonesian Forum for the Environment (Walhi) — one of the plaintiffs — called for collaborative regional-central efforts to address “cross-border air pollution” that was greatly influenced by wind direction.
Tubagus also called on the Jakarta administration to publish a six-monthly evaluation of its air pollution control efforts within the month, as stipulated in the 2019 gubernatorial instruction.
“We, the public, are the ones exposed to the pollutants. We have the right to know about [the air quality in cities],” he said.
Tubagus said that there was yet to be any significant progress in the city's policies on reducing air pollutants at the source, despite governor Anies Baswedan issuing the regulation. He also lambasted the administration’s lack of will in pushing regreening programs and expanding green spaces in the capital to help absorb pollutants.
“The central government should also coordinate regional leaders to suppress pollutants at the source through interregional policies,” he added.
In addition to the civil suit, the movement also planned to educate the public on the issue.
