Indonesia: Over 6M in Jakarta suffer respiratory illness amid alarming air pollution

Indonesia: Over 6M in Jakarta suffer respiratory illness amid alarming air pollution
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Over 6 million residents of Jakarta, Indonesia’s capital, have been affected by acute respiratory infections caused by worsening air pollution, Anadolu Agency reported.

Hanif Faisol Nurofiq, the country’s environment minister, stated on Wednesday that air quality in certain areas of Jakarta has reached hazardous levels, as reported by the Jakarta Globe. He warned that pollution in the northern districts spikes to dangerous levels by midday, with real-time data from air quality monitoring apps like IQAir and public stations confirming the decline in air quality.

“The primary sources of Jakarta’s air pollution are industrial emissions and container trucks,” Hanif explained. Approximately 6,800 industrial chimneys are officially registered in the capital, though the actual number may be higher due to unlicensed operations.

“We have started to crack down on open burning activities, particularly in metallurgy and ore smelting industries,” he added.

Hanif also noted that the health impact of pollution is already severe, with early data showing that more than 6 million people in Jakarta have developed respiratory symptoms, including acute infections that could worsen existing health conditions.

A 2023 study by the US National Library of Medicine revealed that air pollution in Jakarta—especially from fine particulate matter (PM2.5) and ground-level ozone (O₃)—is linked to significant health problems. The study estimated that each year, over 7,000 adverse health effects in children, more than 10,000 premature deaths, and upwards of 5,000 hospitalizations in Jakarta are directly caused by the city’s poor air quality.