Rainless days exacerbate air pollution in Jakarta
Prolonged rainless days have worsened Jakarta’s air quality, with residents reporting respiratory discomfort and environmentalists warning that weather modification may not be enough to address the capital’s broader environmental problems that can exacerbate the conditions brought on by El Niño.
Jakarta's air quality has worsened due to extended periods of dry weather, causing respiratory discomfort for residents like 28-year-old Billa from East Jakarta who has been suffering from a persistent cold and frequent congestion. The city's "environmental imbalance" has become a chronic issue, with only 5% of the area comprised of green open spaces and 90% covered in concrete, exacerbating extreme heat during the dry season.
According to Muhammad Aminullah, Jakarta's campaign coordinator from the Indonesian Forum for the Environment (Walhi), the lack of sufficient tree cover allows unfiltered sunlight to reach the ground, intensifying the impact of El Niño's prolonged dry season. Jakarta's air quality reached "unhealthy for sensitive groups" levels on Monday, with PM2.5 pollutant concentrations at 49.1 micrograms per cubic meter, nine times higher than the World Health Organization's safety limit.
These unhealthy conditions have been worsening since May, coinciding with the El Niño phenomenon, which is expected to persist until September.
Written by urgent.news from The Jakarta Post's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
