VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

Feb. 3 - The Environmental Affairs and Forestry Ministry has reported that based on monitoring of ambient air quality using the air quality monitoring system, the average air quality in Jakarta was much better in 2020 than in 2019.

"The average PM2.5 concentration in Jakarta in 2020 was 28.63 micrograms per cubic meter, or down from 37.66 micrograms per cubic meter in 2019," the ministry's director of Air Pollution Control, Dasrul Chaniago, said during an online discussion here on Tuesday.

The PM2.5 concentration last year was lower by nine micrograms per cubic meter compared to the previous year.

However, the ministry could not say for certain whether the improvement in air quality can be attributed to the pandemic or better weather.

The air quality in Bandung was not much different, according to the ministry. In 2020, the average PM2.5 concentration in Bandung was 27.01 micrograms per cubic meter.

Compared to Bekasi and Depok, which are located in the suburban areas of Jakarta, the air quality of the capital was better based on the average PM2.5 concentration.

For Bekasi, the average PM2.5 concentration was 42.75 micrograms per cubic meter, while in Depok, it was recorded at 33.35 micrograms per cubic meter in 2020.

Chaniago explained that air quality is also influenced by three factors, namely meteorology, topography, and sources of emission in local areas.

Based on data from the World Air Quality Report and the interactive ranking of the world’s most-polluted cities compiled by IQAir, Jakarta was one of the most polluted cities in the world in 2018. (Antaranews)