Jakarta to Spray Water over ASEAN Summit Venues to Combat Air Pollution

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Jakarta Environment Agency Head Asep Kuswanto confirmed that the city has no plan to conduct weather modification to tackle air pollution yet. However, Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs and Investment Luhut Pandjaitan ordered the cloud seeding aircraft to be ready at Halim Perdanakusuma Airport.

“There is no plan to make artificial rain yet, but Pak Menko [Luhut] orders the BMKG’s aircraft to be on standby at Halim,” Asep told Tempo at the City Hall, on Monday, September 4, 2023.

According to him, the Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysics Agency or BMKG would start watering the capital city area, especially the Gelora Bung Karno (GBK) Stadium area and ASEAN Summit venues, in a bid to reduce air pollution.

A day before the 43rd ASEAN Summit in Jakarta, Tempo observed that the city’s air quality was considered unhealthy for sensitive groups. According to IQAir, the air quality index hit 119 at 12 p.m. with a PM2.5 concentration of 42.8 micrograms per meter cubic, placing Jakarta among the top seven most polluted cities in the world.

To combat the worsening air pollution, Asep emphasized that the BMKG would spray water over areas where the ASEAN summit will be held starting this afternoon. “That will be the focus for now,” he said.

MUTIA YUANTISYA

Editor's Choice: ASEAN Summit D-1, Air Quality in Jakarta Still Deemed Unhealthy

Click here to get the latest news updates from Tempo in Google News