JAKARTA: Air pollution in Jakarta climbed to levels about 16 times higher than what the World Health Organisation considers safe on Thursday, turning the sky a toxic gray and placing it in the ranks of the world’s most polluted cities for dirty air, according to reports in the media and foreign wires.
The Indonesian capital, which is home to more than 10 million people, has been smothered in “unhealthy” levels of air pollution for several days, according to Swiss air quality technology company IQAir data.
Infact, Indonesian capital Jakarta has been the world's most polluted city on four days this week, according to air quality monitor IQAir, as authorities fail to grapple with a spike in toxic smog.
Air pollution is estimated to contribute to seven million premature deaths every year globally and is considered by the United Nations to be the single biggest environmental health risk.
Jakarta and its surrounds form a megalopolis of about 30 million people that has outpaced other heavily polluted cities including Riyadh, Doha and Lahore during the week for its concentration of tiny particles known as PM2.5.
On Thursday morning, IQAir data showed that Jakarta at the time was the most polluted major city globally for dirty air. Concentrations of the tiny particulate matter PM2.5 – the most harmful air pollutant – reached 81.5 micrograms per cubic meter by 11 a.m. local time, it said.
Current WHO guidelines state that annual average levels of PM2.5 should not exceed 5 micrograms per cubic meter, while 24-hour exposure should not exceed 15 micrograms per cubic meter.
Indonesia’s Ministry of Health has urged citizens to wear masks while doing outdoor activities.
It has topped Swiss company IQAir's live ranking of pollution data -- which only tracks major cities -- at least once every day since Monday, according to the company's data.
Jakarta has regularly recorded "unhealthy" levels of PM2.5, which can penetrate airways to cause respiratory problems, many times the World Health Organization's recommended levels.
President Joko Widodo told reporters Monday he plans to tackle pollution levels by reducing "Jakarta's burden" as the country prepares to move its capital to Nusantara on Borneo island next year.
He also said a planned metro train network across Jakarta "must be finished" to reduce pollution.
Residents have complained that the pollution caused by industrial smog, traffic congestion and coal-powered plants was affecting their lives and health.
"I have to wear a mask all the time. Both my body and my face are suffering," Anggy Violita, a 32-year-old officer worker in Jakarta, told AFP.
"Last week my entire family was sick for a week and the doctor told me I should stay indoors," the mother-of-two said.
A court ruled in favour of a lawsuit filed by activists and citizens against the government in 2021, ordering Widodo to clean up the city's notorious air pollution and ruling he and other top officials had been negligent in protecting residents.
Indonesia has pledged to stop building new coal-fired power plants from 2023 and to be carbon neutral by 2050.
But despite an outcry from activists, the government is expanding the enormous Suralaya coal plant on Java island, one of the biggest in South-East Asia.
According to Greenpeace Indonesia, 10 coal-fired power plants are operating within a 100-kilometre (62 miles) radius of the capital.
Indonesian Health Minister Budi Sadikin raised concerns the pollution could increase the incidence of asthma attacks and provoke other respiratory diseases.
“There are several respiratory diseases with a high prevalence that are caused by air pollution,” he said in a Thursday statement.
Air pollution, however, is not a new problem for Jakarta, which suffers from chronic traffic jams and industrial smoke from factories surrounding it. IQAir ranked it the most polluted city in South-East Asia last year and the 26th worst globally.
Emissions from motorised vehicles account for most of Jakarta’s pollution, according to Nirwono Yoga, an environmental analyst from Trisakti University. Only about 10% of city residents use public transportation.
Air pollution is estimated to contribute to seven million premature deaths every year globally and is considered by the United Nations to be the single biggest environmental health risk.
