Jakarta is facing serious air pollution. (Source: thejakartapost.com)Jakarta (VNA) – Indonesia’s capital city of Jakarta is facing serious air pollution as throughout2018, the city’s PM2.5 reached 45.3 micrograms per cubic meter or more thanfour times the maximum standard set by the World Health Organization (WHO) andthree times the maximum level allowed by the Indonesian national standard.
According to theair sensor results, throughout 2018, only 11days in Jakarta had “good” air quality. The rest were moderate (86 days),unhealthy for sensitive groups (130 days) and unhealthy (98 days).
A report by Greenpeace releasedearly this year named Jakarta as the most polluted city in Southeast Asia. Jakarta Governor Anies Baswedan has acknowledged thecity’s severe air pollution, and explained that locals in Jakarta tendto focus on politics and fragmentation instead of pressing issues that arerelated to their own health. Besides, air pollution is much less visiblecompared to issues of flooding, water pollution and waste, he added.
PM2.5 is one ofthe most dangerous pollutants with the worst health impact among commonlymeasured air pollutants. Its small size, up to 2.5 microns, enables it topenetrate deep into the human respiratory system and the entire body. Itscommon sources include combustion from vehicle engines, industry, wood and coalburning, as well as through other pollutants reacting in the atmosphere.
According to theWHO, each year, about 6.5 million people died early due to air pollution, whileover 95 percent of the world population are breathing unhealthy air. Airpollution also causes loss worth 5 trillion USD to the world economy.-VNA
VNA
