Drought to exacerbate air pollution

Moch. N. Kurniawan, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Severe drought, particularly in provinces located south of the equator, will worsen air quality in the country, a climatologist says.

The dry season would extend an extra two months to December, increasing dust particles in the air, Paulus Agus Winarso of the Meteorology and Geophysics Agency (BMG) said on Thursday.

Data provided by the Office of the State Minister for the Environment shows that particle concentrations in Jakarta had already surpassed the safe level of 150 microgram per cubic meter per day between June and July this year.

The safe level of particle concentration contained in Government Regulation No. 41/1999 on national air quality.

Particle concentrations once reached 635 in Senayan, Jakarta, in June and hit 536.95 in Kemayoran, Jakarta, in July.

Particle concentrations in Jakarta during the two-month period was higher than in January this year, when levels were mainly recorded below 150.

The high particle concentrations cause serious respiratory and eye ailments, and irritation.

Paulus said other cities would also have increasing particle concentrations due to severe drought, although the concentrations were still considered safe.

BMG said last Monday that the severe drought, which peaks this month, would hit the country south of the equator.

The equator dissects Sumatra just north of the town of Payakumbuh, to Pontianak in Kalimantan and on to a point just north of Manokwari, Papua. Java and Bali, as well as the Nusa Tenggara islands, all lie to the south of the equator.

Achmad Zakir of the BMG said this year's drought was more severe than last year's due to very strong, dry winds from Australia.

"We have seen hardly any rainfall in the last four months, and when it has fallen, it has only lasted 10 minutes," he said.

Zakir also said temperature would increase to between 33 and 34 degrees, from 31 to 32 degrees during the normal dry season.

Farmers throughout Java have requested urgent water supplies as they cannot get water for daily needs, let alone irrigation.

Patients with respiratory problems at Karyadi Hospital in Semarang have increased 20 percent.

Paulus said the government should not consider cloud seeding due to the high costs and poor results.

"It is better to spend the money helping the poor get enough clean water."

He warned people to be cautious about the possible extreme rainy season after the drought.

"Be aware of floods and landslides at that time," he said.