Despite lots of vegetation, Cibubur in East Jakarta is the area with the most polluted air in Greater Jakarta, new data reveal.
Greenpeace Indonesia’s climate and energy campaigner, Bondan Andriyanu, said that the fine particulate matter air pollutant, better known as PM 2.5, polluted the air in Greater Jakarta to a much higher level than is considered safe by the World Health Organisation at 25 microgram per cubic meter.
“Unfortunately, PM 2.5 does not vanish, as it has a persistant quality. Vegetation can only absorb gas pollutants, like carbon dioxide,” he said.
Greenpeace Indonesia assessed Jakarta, Bogor, Depok, Tangerang and Bekasi in February and March to monitor the level of PM 2.5.
According to the data, the most-polluted air was found in Cibubur, with the PM 2.5 level reaching 103.2 microgram per cubic meter.
Compared to other areas of the capital, Cibubur has ample vegetation, but that would hardly help against PM 2.5, Bondan said.
He added that unlike carbon dioxide, which comes in the form of gas, PM 2.5 is tiny carcinogenic particles that are small enough to enter the bloodstream and, hence, cause various diseases, including heart illness.
“The only way to reduce PM 2.5 is by controlling the pollutant sources.”
PM 2.5 in Greater Jakarta, he said, was the result of vehicle emissions, in addition to factory emissions from the surrounding area.
