Kalbar Has Indonesia's Worst Air Quality This Morning (Friday, August 18, 2023)

Several areas in West Kalimantan (Kalbar) province have recorded poor air quality this morning.

Based on IQAir data at 10:00 WIB (Western Indonesian Time) on Friday, August 18, 2023, the Air Quality Index (AQI US) in Mempawah, Kalbar, reached 162. This figure makes Mempawah the area with the worst air quality in Indonesia this morning.

According to IQAir's standards, an index score in the range of 0-50 indicates good air quality, while 51-100 indicates moderate air quality, and 101-150 indicates unhealthy air quality for sensitive groups.

Next, unhealthy air quality ranges from 151-200, very unhealthy air quality from 201-300, and hazardous air quality is above 301.

Besides Mempawah, another area in Kalbar with the worst air quality in Indonesia this morning is Terentang District. This area recorded an AQI US of 152, ranking 4th in the country.

The poor air quality in Kalbar is caused by increasingly widespread forest and land fires (karhutla), resulting in haze. According to BMKG monitoring, there were 1,618 hotspots throughout Kalbar until yesterday afternoon.

The Head of the Information Task Force for Disaster Management Agency (BPBD) of West Kalimantan Province, Daniel, said that hundreds of land fire cases in Kalbar have been extinguished by his team.

"In general, there have been land fires in Kalbar in August 2023, but the exact data is currently being verified," said Daniel, as quoted from Antara, Wednesday (August 17, 2023) afternoon.

Here is a complete list of the 10 areas with the worst air quality in Indonesia on August 18 at 10:00 WIB:

1. Mempawah (Kalbar): 162 AQI index score
2. South Tangerang (Banten): 157 AQI index score
3. Surabaya (East Java): 157 AQI index score
4. Terentang (Kalbar): 152 AQI index score
5. Serang Regency (Banten): 151 AQI index score
6. Bandung City (West Java): 133 AQI index score
7. Jambi City (Jambi): 121 AQI index score
8. Tangerang City (Banten): 117 AQI index score
9. Jakarta (Jakarta): 116 AQI index score
10. Palembang (South Sumatra): 108 AQI index score