Ministry Of Health Calls Fifth Highest Air Pollution The Cause Of High Death In Indonesia

Lustration. Patients with respiratory problems due to exposure to smog are being treated at the Oxygen House of warehous Hospital, Palangka Raya, Central Kalimantan, Wednesday, September 18, 2019. (ANTARA)

JAKARTA - The Ministry of Health (Kemenkes) revealed that air pollution is the fifth highest death factor in Indonesia. The data is based on the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation 2019.

The head of the Ministry of Health's Respiratory and Air Pollution Disease Management, Agus Dwisusanto, said that air pollution was the fifth highest death factor in Indonesia.

"We see that it turns out that this respiration occupies the 10 most diseases in Indonesia. Then this pollution is the fifth highest death factor in Indonesia," Agus said in his statement, Monday, August 28.

Agus said, based on this data, air pollution was also the fifth after high blood pressure, blood sugar, smoking, and obesity.

"This data already exists from the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation 2019, we can see the five most common respiration diseases are tuberculosis, COPD, lung cancer, and pneumonia, and asthma," he said.

It is known, based on data from IQAir as of August 27, 2023 at 06.00 WIB, the air quality in Jakarta is included in the unhealthy category with an air quality index reaching AQI (Air Quality Index) US 171. The main pollutant is PM 2.5 with a concentration of 91 Thugs/m3.

Meanwhile, PM 2.5 concentration in Jakarta currently reaches 18.2 times the annual air quality guide value set by WHO.

Keep in mind that PM 2.5 can increase due to hot weather, fire, and environmental pollution. WHO states that components in PM 2.5 can cause respiratory tract disorders, such as ISPA, lung cancer, cardiovascular problems, early death risks, and chronic obstructive lung disease.