Hi everyone! To start off the week, let’s take a look at Indonesia’s air quality from IQAir. Indonesia is the largest country in Southeast Asia. Hence, I figured that it would be wise to zoom out and capture air quality levels throughout its many islands.
As you can see in the image, air quality levels are in the moderate range. But does having a lower AQI value as compared to other countries discussed in this blog so far indicate that air pollution is not a problem for the country? Unfortunately, not.
As Singaporeans, we know better than anyone about the severe forest fires that happen in Indonesia. We will complain about the haze it brings, and feel angry and hopeless. But have we spared a thought to think about the people who actually live in these areas? UNICEF explains that air pollution affects babies even before they are born. Imagine being born into a polluted city, and never knowing what a non-polluted world is like!
Indonesians often lament about the smog that hovers its capital city Jakarta. I have been to the city around 5 years ago, and I agree that the air in Jakarta is significantly different from Singapore. The air has a distinct smell, and if I happened to be exerting myself physically on a particular day, I would feel easily breathless and uncomfortable. There is just too much smoke coming out from the vehicles on the roads! Imagine having to breathe in air like that on a daily basis! The BBC, ABC and CNN have reported on the government’s negligence in managing air pollution in the city. In 2019, residents filed a lawsuit against the government for not monitoring the capital’s air conditions. The smog that persists in the city is caused by heavy traffic and coal-fired power plants that are not fitted with filters. These are issues that the government has not tackled up until today. A more pressing issue that the government is handling pretty badly is the issue of land submergence. To read more on how the government aims to deal with sea-level rise and city flooding by shifting its capital to another region, you can click the BBC hyperlink above, or in the reference section. In short, the government is mainly to blame for air pollution, and this case study proves that society can make a change.
If Indonesia successfully cleans up its air, as claimed by Greenstone & Fan (2019), Indonesians can live as much as 8 months or 2.5 years longer. But what have researchers said about Indonesia’s pollution problem? I will cover 5 research papers in the next post.
See you in the next one! ✿
References
BBC (2021) Indonesia President Found Negligent Over Jakarta’s FIlty Air. 16 September. Available from: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-58554331 [Accessed: 21 February 2022].
Greenstone, M. & Fan, Q. C. (2019) Indonesia’s Worsening Air Quality and its Impact on Life Expectancy. Air Quality Life Index. Available from: https://aqli.epic.uchicago.edu/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/Indonesia-Report.pdf [Accessed: 21 February 2022].
IQAir (2022) Air Quality in Indonesia. 21 February. Available from: https://www.iqair.com/indonesia [Accessed: 21 February 2022].
Rayda, N. (2021) IN FOCUS: The Ongoing Struggle to Reduce Air Pollution in Jakarta and Why the Problem has Persisted. 20 November. Channel News Asia. Available from: https://www.channelnewsasia.com/asia/indonesia-jakarta-air-pollution-emissions-vehicles-factories-2285926 [Accessed: 21 February 2022].
Salim, N. (2021) Indonesian President Guilty of Environmental Negligence in Lawsuit over Jakarta’s Chronic Air Pollution. 17 September. ABC News. Available from: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-09-17/air-pollution-in-indonesia-court-case-jakarta/100233996 [Accessed: 21 February 2022].
Sood, A. (2021) Jakarta Residents Win Battle for Clean Air Against Indonesian Government. 16 September. CNN World. Available from: https://edition.cnn.com/2021/09/16/asia/jakarta-citizen-lawsuit-air-pollution-intl-hnk/index.html [Accessed: 21 February 2022].
UNICEF (2019) Indonesia: 10 Million Children at Risk from Air Pollution Due to Wild Forest Fires. 24 September. Available from: https://www.unicef.org/press-releases/indonesia-10-million-children-risk-air-pollution-due-wild-forest-fires [Accessed: 21 February 2022].