Air Pollution Causes Illness of Half Jakarta Population: KPBB

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Ahmad Safrudin, the executive director of the leaded fuel eradication committee (KPBB), revealed the toll of air pollution in Jakarta.

“We conduct research once every five years. In 2016, 58.3 percent of over 10 million Jakarta population fall ill or die due to air pollution,” said Ahmad during a workshop ‘Soot-free Urban Bus Fleet in Asia’, in Pullman Hotel, Thamrin, Central Jakarta, Thursday, September 12.

Based on a study by the International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT) in 2017, many cities around the world are dealing with ambient air pollution or potentially harmful pollutants emitted by industries, households, and vehicles, which attributes to 2.9 million cases of early death caused by fine dust (particulate matter or PM 2.5).

Diseases caused by air pollution include ischemic heart disease, stroke, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), lung cancer, lower respiratory tract infection (LRTI), and type 2 diabetes mellitus.

Jakarta is one of the cities with the worst air quality based on PM 2.5 parameter. According to AirNow, the ambient air quality monitoring System (AAQMS), the annual average of the city’s air quality reached 46,1 μg/m3. In July alone, it was 63,82 μg/m3.

AAQMS, which is under the city management, showed that the annual average of PM10, SO2, and O3 throughout 2012-2017 passed over the standard.

Ahmad reiterated that transportation is the biggest contributor to the city’s air pollution at 46 percent, followed by industry 28 percent, domestics 17 percent, and construction projects 1 percent.

MOH KHORY ALFARIZI