Jakarta's Air Pollution Worsens During the Dry Season

Air pollution in Jakarta tends to worsen during the dry season, posing health risks and even premature mortality to its residents.

This is recorded in a research report by Vital Strategies and the Bandung Institute of Technology (ITB) entitled *Main Sources of Air Pollution in DKI Jakarta*.

"The annual average concentration of PM2.5 (air pollutant particles) in Jakarta is four to five times higher than the WHO Air Quality Guideline standards," said the Vital Strategies team in their report.

"The number of deaths linked to PM2.5 in Jakarta is the highest nationally, at almost 36 per 100,000 people, compared to 20 per 100,000 nationally," they added.

Vital Strategies and ITB monitored Jakarta's air pollution levels during the rainy season (October 2018 – March 2019) and the dry season (July – September 2019).

Monitoring was conducted by collecting PM2.5 air pollutant particles at three locations: the Gelora Bung Karno (GBK) Stadium area, Kebon Jeruk, and Lubang Buaya.

"These locations were chosen based on land use features, weather, and other considerations to capture potential variations in air pollution sources," said the Vital Strategies team.

"PM2.5 was collected using filters and its chemical composition analyzed. Two statistical methods with receptor models were used to estimate the contribution of sources to ambient PM2.5 concentrations, and the results were compared to improve the accuracy of the findings," they continued.

The results showed that during the rainy season, the daily average concentration of PM2.5 in the GBK area reached 21 micrograms per cubic meter. However, during the dry season, this surged to 58 micrograms per cubic meter.

This figure exceeds the ideal standard set by the World Health Organization (WHO), which sets the safe limit for PM2.5 for health at 25 micrograms per cubic meter (daily average standard).

PM2.5 pollution at the two other monitoring locations, Kebon Jeruk and Lubang Buaya, also increased during the dry season and fell further below the WHO's safe threshold, as shown in the graph above.

According to the findings of Vital Strategies and ITB, the largest contributor to air pollution in DKI Jakarta is the transportation sector.

During the dry season, vehicle exhaust fumes are estimated to contribute around 42% to 57% of PM2.5 air pollutant particles in Jakarta.

They also recommended reducing vehicle emissions to improve Jakarta's air quality.

"Reducing vehicle emissions can be addressed through a comprehensive and synergistic vehicle pollution control strategy targeting improvements in fuel quality, emission control standards, mandatory emission testing for all vehicles, alternative technologies (e.g., hybrid or electric vehicles), and road maintenance," said the Vital Strategies team.

"In addition, continuing and accelerating the expansion of the integrated public transportation system in Jakarta can reduce reliance on private vehicles and reduce vehicle emissions," they continued.