Jakarta Sky Starts To Turn Blue, DKI Provincial Government: All Programs Are Successful

The sky in Jakarta is starting to look blue (Photo: DOK VOI/Diah Ayu)

JAKARTA - The sky in Jakarta seems to be starting to look bright again in the last two days. The blue sky is visible again and the fog is starting to decrease, after being plagued by air pollution for some time.

Responding to this, the Head of Public Relations of the DKI Jakarta Environmental Service, Yogi Ikhwan, assessed that the current improvement in air quality in Jakarta is the result of the pollution control program that has been implemented.

These air pollution control actions can be seen in Governor Decree 576 of 2023 concerning Air Pollution Control Strategies.

"Everything (the program was successful," said Yogi in a short message, Tuesday, September 12.

Yogi explained that the biggest contribution to Jakarta's air pollution comes from the transportation sector. Thus, Yogi considers the government's policy to reduce pollution from motor vehicle emissions to be effective.

"The DKI Jakarta Provincial Government is currently continuing to strive to reduce sources of PM2.5 air pollution from the transportation sector through massive emissions testing campaigns such as implementing ticketing raids, increasing the use of public transportation, and electrifying TransJakarta buses," he explained.

Judging by the air quality monitoring agency IQ Air, Jakarta ranks 38th in the city with the worst air pollution in the world as of today at around 16.00 WIB. This figure has decreased significantly compared to before, which often ranked first in the most polluted cities.

Jakarta's air quality index this afternoon was at 68, which is in the moderate category. Meanwhile, since several months ago, Jakarta's air quality index has often been at 100, which indicates that Jakarta's air is unhealthy for humans or animals with sensitive body conditions.

The concentration of particulate matter (PM) 2.5 is at 18µg/m³. However, the PM 2.5 concentration in Jakarta is currently still 3.6 times the WHO annual air quality guideline value.

Meanwhile this afternoon, at around 13.00 p.m. Wester Indonesian Time (WIB), Jakarta's air quality index was at 93 and ranked 17th most polluted city.