Air Quality In South Solok Is Unhealthy Due To Smoke, Residents Are Asked To Use Masks

A number of motorcyclists crossed the main South Solok road in the middle of a smog that caused the air to be unhealthy. (Between/Erik)

SOLOK - The results of monitoring the Housing, Settlement, Environment and Transportation Office of South Solok Regency, West Sumatra, the air quality in the area is unhealthy due to smog. "Based on the monitoring of the Air Quality Index (AQI) using the IQAir application, this has reached 164 and this means that the air quality in South Solok is no longer healthy due to fog from forest and land fires in other areas," said Head of the Housing, Settlement, Environment, and Solok Selatan Transportation Service Wirnoveri in Padang Aro, Antara, Wednesday, September 6. The results on this application measure Particulate Matter 2.5 or PM2.5, which is an air particle that is small in size from or equal to 2.5 μm (micrometer). At AQI 164, PM2.5 shows a level of 80.2 μm / cubic meter. This figure is far below the threshold set by the World Health Organization (WHO). The South Solok Regency Government recommends the public to start using masks to maintain health. The use of masks, he said, is to reduce the risk of being exposed to disease due to the fog caused by land fires. "Health recommendations for this situation are reducing activities outside the home, closing windows to avoid the entry of dirty air, and for sensitive groups it is recommended to wear masks," he said. Although until this afternoon the figure continues to fall, recommendations to use masks are still recommended, especially for sensitive groups of people. One resident of Irwan (43) said that it had been almost a week since smoke enveloped South Solok and it had started to feel sore in the eyes.

"The smoke is getting thicker every day and it starts to feel sore in the eyes," he said.