Jakarta’s toxic air pollution currently become a headline all over the news in Jakarta and even globally. This news is so shamed. Many factors made Jakarta’s air toxic, from transportation, and factories, to seasons.
How do we know? Unhealthy air quality can be scary, but the Air Quality Index is a valuable tool to help you stay safe. The AQI is a rating system that shows the severity of pollution in the air on a scale from 0 to 500. It’s a complex calculation that is administered by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The rating is created by measuring five major pollutants: ground-level ozone, particulate matter (PM2.5), carbon monoxide, nitrogen dioxide, and sulfur dioxide. An AQI under 50 is considered good air quality, meaning that it is safe for everyone to spend time outdoors without posing a risk to their health. As the AQI number increases, however, so does the health risk. An AQI of over 300 is considered hazardous (American Lung Association, 2023).
As of August 2023, Jakarta got a score of PM2.5, a class of airborne pollutants so fine that they can be inhaled and cause respiratory disease, reached 136.9 micrograms per cubic meter (µg/m3) — more than 27 times higher than what the World Health Organization (WHO) considers safe. Air pollution levels have consistently been so bad throughout June until today that IQ Air, a Swiss-based air quality technology company, ranked Jakarta as the most polluted city on Earth for several days in the month.
High-risk groups are children under 18, the elderly, people with chronic heart or lung disease, pregnant people, and people with diabetes who may get respiratory disease. Adults who are active outdoors, including outdoor workers and avid exercisers, can be considered at higher risk as well because of prolonged exposure. All these groups are most likely to be the first to experience the effects of ozone and particle pollution, so they need to take extra steps to protect themselves from harm.
In response to the latest period of air pollution, the Jakarta environmental agency said the problem was due to a combination of low temperatures and high humidity.
Is this so? So, what should we do?
Air pollution can threaten anyone's health. Be aware of how you feel and take steps to help protect yourself whenever needed. You can do these:
1. Reduce the time you spend outdoors to under 30 minutes when AQI is high. Also, reduce the intensity of outdoor activity. According to the EPA, the chances of being affected by unhealthy levels of air pollution increase the longer a person is active outdoors and the more strenuous the activity.
2. If you must go outdoors, consider wearing a mask. Unfortunately, not all masks are created equal when it comes to particle pollution as a cloth or dust mask is not able to filter out the fine particles. However, well-fitted N95 or KN95 masks have better filtration capabilities and may be beneficial during high AQI days.
3. Keep your air indoors healthy by keeping the windows and doors closed. Run the air conditioning on the recirculate setting, use a portable HEPA air cleaner, or, in severe circumstances, create a clean room.
Please take care of yourself and your surroundings. We may work together by using masks, minimizing outdoor activities, to using public transportation rather than private ones. The season may be the reason behind it, but our activities affect seasons to do so.
Written by Ariani Bakhitah (Content Writer for ASEAN Youth Organization)
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