Jakarta air quality second worst in world on Sunday
Jakarta’s air quality on Sunday morning was classified as unhealthy and ranked second among cities with the worst air in the world.
Based on data from the IQAir air quality monitoring site at 06:01 WIB, the air quality index (AQI) in Jakarta stood at 167, falling into the unhealthy category with PM2.5 air pollution and a concentration value of 79 micrograms per cubic metre.
This figure indicates that the air quality level is unhealthy for sensitive groups because it can harm sensitive humans or animal groups, or could cause damage to plants or aesthetic values.
The site also recommended that people avoid outdoor activities given the air conditions in Jakarta.
If outdoors, use a mask and close windows to avoid dirty outside air.
Meanwhile, the good category is a level of air quality that has no effect on human or animal health and does not affect plants, buildings or aesthetic values, with a PM2.5 range of 0-50.
The moderate category is air quality that does not affect human or animal health but does affect sensitive plants and aesthetic values, with a PM2.5 range of 51-100.
The very unhealthy category has a PM2.5 range of 200-299, meaning the air quality can harm the health of a number of exposed population segments.
Finally, hazardous (300-500) means the air quality can generally cause serious harm to the health of the population.
The city with the worst air quality in first place was Dubai (United Arab Emirates) at 173, third was Manama (Bahrain) at 159, fourth was Doha (Qatar) at 155 and fifth was Lahore (Pakistan) at 146.
The DKI Jakarta Provincial Government has prepared a rapid response to tackle air pollution in the capital during the dry season, which is predicted to occur from early May to August.
Rapid measures to handle air pollution during the dry season include improving the quality of the air quality monitoring system and motor vehicle emissions testing.
In addition, the DKI Jakarta Provincial Government also has an Air Pollution Control Strategy (SPPU) that is being evaluated from various aspects, ranging from PM2.5 trends, emission loads per sector to their impact on public health.
According to the DKI Jakarta Provincial Government, air pollution control cannot be carried out partially by one area alone, so integrated joint action is needed between regional apparatus organisations as well as cross-regional collaboration around Jakarta.