Jakarta's Morning Pollution Worsens as Air Quality Reaches an Unhealthy Level

Jakarta’s air quality deteriorated further on Wednesday morning, 20 May 2026, with the Air Quality Index (AQI) recorded at 157 at 07:00 WIB, according to IQAir. In the global rankings of worst air, Riyadh in Saudi Arabia topped the list with an AQI of 264. Johannesburg and Delhi followed with 169 and 157 respectively. Jakarta ranked sixth among the world’s most polluted cities; the air quality fell into the ‘unhealthy’ category, meaning health effects are likely to be felt by the general population, not just sensitive groups. Vulnerable groups such as children, the elderly, pregnant women, and people with respiratory diseases face higher risks. The dominant pollutant is PM2.5 — fine particles that can penetrate deep into the lungs — with a concentration of 64 µg/m³. The data come from 44 monitoring stations run by 42 contributors across various parts of the capital, providing a comprehensive picture of air quality in the city. The weather in Jakarta was 28°C with 84% humidity and winds around 4 km/h. Such conditions can trap pollutants near the surface, making it harder for particles to disperse into higher layers of the atmosphere, causing pollution to linger in the lower air layer that people breathe during daily activities.