Swiss air quality technology company, IQAir recorded that Jakarta occupies the top position as the world’s most polluted city or the most polluted city in the world on Wednesday, 9 August 2023 after consistently ranking among the 10 most polluted cities globally since May.
Residents of Jakarta are known to have long complained of the toxic air from chronic traffic, industrial smog and coal-fired power plants. There was even a civil lawsuit filed in 2021 to demand the government take action to control air pollution.
The court at the time ruled that Indonesian President Joko Widodo should establish national air quality standards to protect human health, and that the Minister of Health and the governor of Jakarta should devise a strategy to control air pollution.
Based on kompas.com, on Sunday (13/8/2023), the air quality index for the city of Jakarta this morning penetrated 172, with the main pollutant PM 2.5 and a concentration value of 96.8 micrograms per cubic meter.
Jakarta is followed by the city of Kampala, Uganda, in second place with an air quality index of 164. Then, Johannesburg in South Africa is ranked third as a polluted city with a quality of 162. Jakarta’s air quality data was obtained from 21 contributors, one of which was the Meteorology, Climatology and Geo-Physics Agency (BMKG), Purpleair and PT Barito Pacific.
Read also : Air Pollution Goes Hand in Hand with the Risk of Non-Lungs Cancer, Scientists Say
Trisakti University urban planning observer Nirwono Yoga revealed that improving public transportation is an important solution to improve air quality in Jakarta. This is because 75% of air pollution is contributed by the transportation sector where the majority of residents use private vehicles.
Apart from that, improving public transportation must also be accompanied by controlling industries that have so far polluted the environment. Industries that have been using coal energy, for example, should be encouraged to switch to using renewable energy such as solar panels.
Source: megapolitan.kompas.com, health.detik.com
