Malang, 24 August 2023. Recently there has been a lot of news circulating on social media that the air quality index in Jakarta as of 16 August 2023 touched 157 in the unhealthy category, even before it had reached 170, making Jakarta the city with the worst air quality in the world. In addition, based on Inews.id news (2023) it was stated that as many as 9,709 Jakarta residents had been infected with the respiratory tract (ARI) due to air pollution.
The phenomenon of worsening air quality in the capital city attracted the attention of one of the UMM Government Science Study Program students, namely Jasminne Fridayanti, who was carrying out routine internships in Central Jakarta, to be precise at the Ministry of Development Planning (Bappenas).
“During my internship in Central Jakarta, I fell in love with the urban planning. However, my joy must be mixed with feelings of worry and fear, because the air quality is getting worse. Though clean air plays a very important role for human health. This phenomenon sooner or later could threaten my health, especially respiratory disease," he said.
Jasminne also revealed that after tracing the news circulating as well as seeing first hand the situation in Jakarta, it turned out that the cause of the bad condition of air pollution was caused by a significant increase in the number of cars and motorbikes. In addition, Jakarta is also surrounded by industrial facilities, namely as many as 16 power plants that still use coal and 418 industrial factories. There are also 10 PLTUs which in fact contribute the biggest pollution in Jakarta and of them there are still 4 more in the process of being built.
"Based on the data and reality that I have seen in real terms, of course you can see how the arrogance of drivers and entrepreneurs can threaten the lives of other people," he added.
Actions and solutions are needed to reduce air pollution in Jakarta, this certainly requires seriousness from various parties, especially the government through policies that can encourage, manage, regulate and control pollutant sources from various sectors and sub-sectors.
"I hope the government and related parties can take concrete action to reduce pollution in Jakarta. This includes strict regulation of emission reduction efforts for private vehicles and the industrial sector, development of more environmentally friendly public transport, and public awareness campaigns on the impact of pollution and how to reduce it. It is also very important for the active participation of the community by reducing the use of private vehicles, supporting the use of clean energy and protecting the surrounding environment," he concluded. (van/roz)
