M. Faiz Zaki, Jakarta – The air quality in Greater Jakarta, encompassing Jakarta, Bogor, Depok, Tangerang, and Bekasi, has been categorized as unhealthy over the past month, as confirmed by the Indonesian Ministry of Environment and Forestry.
The Director of Air Quality Protection and Management, Edward Nixon Pakpahan, said the air quality status is derived from observing the concentration of particulate matter 2.5, or PM2.5, from May 1 to June 3.
"The air quality is categorized as yellow, or unhealthy, with PM2.5 concentration above 100 ppm (parts per million), higher than the standardized rate of the standardized 55 ppm," he said during a press conference in Jakarta on Wednesday, June 4, 2025.
Nixon explained that air quality monitoring is conducted through Ambient Air Quality Monitoring Stations (SPKUA) across Greater Jakarta. The monitored locations include North Jakarta, Central Jakarta, West Jakarta, Depok City, Bogor Regency, South Tangerang, Bogor City, Bekasi Regency, and Bekasi City.
The results show that 35 points recorded an increase in PM2.5 scores during the monitoring period over the past month.
Despite being categorized as unhealthy, Nixon stated that this year's figures are relatively lower compared to previous years. However, he emphasized that this should be a serious concern for local governments to address and prevent unhealthy air quality statuses.
The ministry revealed that the decrease in air quality this time is influenced by various factors, including "emissions from vehicles and industries" and, most importantly, open burning.
According to Nixon, open burning refers to the post-harvest straw burning and direct burning of waste without undergoing proper combustion processes.
The government laid out five categories of air quality under the ministerial regulation No. 14 of 2020. These are good (green) ranges from 1-50, moderate (blue) ranges from 51-100, unhealthy (yellow) ranges from 101-200, very unhealthy (red) ranges from 201-300, and hazardous (black) above 301.
Nixon stated that the study's results also revealed that emission contributors come from the transportation sector around 42-52 percent, industrial activities 14-17 percent, open burning 7 percent, and construction activities 13 percent.
The reason the transportation sector is the largest emission contributor is also influenced by the sulfur content in fuel. In Indonesia, gasoline contains around 350 to 550 ppm of sulfur, while diesel has up to 1,200 ppm.
These figures are still far from the Euro 4 standard, which contains 50 ppm of sulfur. "Therefore, we are urging everyone, including the relevant ministries, to support the acceleration of implementing environmentally friendly or low-sulfur fuel as soon as possible," he added.