Moch. N. Kurniawan, Jakarta – Air pollution in major cities in Indonesia has been worsening in the past few years due to increasing levels of pollutants mainly emanating from motorized vehicles, the government has said.

The deputy to the state minister of the environment, Imam Hendargo, said the increasing vehicular exhaust emission had caused a major decline in the quality of air.

The 2002 Indonesian Environment Status, which will be released soon, states that motorized vehicles reached 20.78 million in 2001, an increase from 18.97 million in the previous year.

Citing the report, Imam also said that low fuel quality, leaded gasoline and the use of old vehicles, poor automotive maintenance and poor traffic management were responsible for the poor quality of air in the country. "As long as I have observed, I must sadly say that air quality in major cities has worsened," he said over the weekend.

The major cities monitored by the government, are Jakarta, Bandung (West Java), Semarang (Central Java), Surabaya (East Java), Denpasar (Bali), Jambi (Jambi), Pekanbaru (Riau), Medan (North Sumatra), Pontianak (West Kalimantan) and Palangkaraya (Central Kalimantan).

Good quality air in Jakarta declined to 5.75 percent in 2002 from 20.55 percent in 2001 and 26 percent in 2000. On the contrary unhealthy air increased to 31.23 percent in 2002 from 8.5 percent in 2001 and zero in 2000.

The government data also states that emission of hydrocarbon (HC), nitrogen oxide (NOx) and carbon monoxide (CO), mainly emitted by motor vehicles has been increasing.

Hydrocarbon emission reached 1.25 million tons in 2001, up from 1.13 million tons in 2000 and 1.09 million tons in 1999. Nitrogen oxide emission also increased to 694,224 tons in 2001 from 630,000 tons in 2000 and 605,000 tons in 1999.

Carbon monoxide emission also climbed to 14.3 million tons in 2001 from 12.96 million in the previous year and 12.45 million in 1999.

Hydrocarbon can cause brain, muscle and heart problems, nitrogen oxide triggers respiratory problems such as asthma and bronchitis, while carbon monoxide prompts systemic problems, which could lead to death due to lack of oxygen.

Besides vehicular pollution, Imam said, factory, household and forest fires had also contributed to the deteriorating air quality in the country.

Focusing on forest fires, he said the average air quality in Palangkaraya and Pontianak was at a dangerous and unhealthy level respectively due to frequent forest fires. Last year, between August and October the air index in Palangkaraya exceeded 350. While in Pontianak, the index was above 170 between July and August.

An index of more than 300 is categorized as dangerous, a level of pollutants that could create serious health problems to human beings. An air index of between 100 and 199 is deemed unhealthy that could pose health problems to sensitive humans and animals.