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Air pollution in Indonesia is a growing national crisis for its massive implications on the citizens’ health and welfare. CREA’s prior analysis on Indonesia’s air quality through 2023 where air pollution became exacerbated by El Niño as the dry season became prolonged, impacting dispersion of pollutants and inducing forest and land fires in fire-prone areas. This briefing provides an assessment on the state of air quality in Indonesia’s capital, Jakarta, as well as other major cities located in other provinces, and includes an evaluation on the current state of air quality monitoring.
Key findings
- In IQAir’s 2024 World Air Quality report, Indonesia was ranked as the worst country in Southeast Asia and 15th worst globally, scores that should not be taken lightly.
- While Jakarta has seen a positive progress in ambient air quality monitoring, coverage is still minimal in the city’s metropolitan areas or Jabodetabek (Jakarta, Bogor, Depok, Tangerang and South Tangerang, Bekasi), all of which have levels ranging from 30 to 55 μg/m3, six to eleven-fold the WHO 2021 Air Quality Guideline threshold set at 5 μg/m3.
- Java continues to be Indonesia’s most polluted island, with almost all its cities frequently experiencing days of “moderate” to “unhealthy for sensitive groups” air quality, or even worse. This highlights how crucial air quality indexing is for informing the public about the health risks tied to air pollution.
- Although many cities on the other major islands – such as Sumatra, Kalimantan, Sulawesi, Maluku, the Lesser Sunda Islands, and Papua – had annual averages of PM2.5 below 15 μg/m³ (WHO Interim Target 3), a high number also had annual levels that averaged between 18 to 26 μg/m³ (WHO Interim Target 2). While these ranges are still within two and three-tier away, respectively, from the WHO’s recommended level, there is a real risk of worsening without proactive measures.
- In spite of air quality being raised as a national issue, there is a years-long standstill on national commitments on air pollution that specify time-bound reduction targets, showing the lack of political leadership and nationwide cooperation.
- Jakarta has seen positive progress in air quality monitoring with the most recent tally (10 reference-grade government sensors, 110 low-cost government sensors, and 5 open-source private sensors), though there is a significant coverage gap beyond the city limits into other satellite cities. Indonesia’s commitment to strengthen its domestic monitoring capabilities and data transparency must be bolstered, given the impending discontinuation of the US embassy monitor program, a long-standing external data source that has been instrumental in illuminating pollution issues since 2015.
- While improvements in air quality monitoring coverage have led to a better understanding of exposure levels, the Prabowo administration should implement “no regrets” policies along with the National Ambient Air Quality Standards now rather than wait for more data or expect monitoring alone to prompt action.
- Recognising thermal power plants as “the low hanging fruit” is a key step. Pre-2019 coal power plants, particularly those near Jakarta, are documented to emit at least twice the pollution of newer facilities. Therefore, imposing and rigorously enforcing stricter emission standards is crucial, not only to address transboundary pollution and directly improve Jakarta’s air quality, but also to align Indonesia’s clean air commitments with its energy planning, safeguarding the health and well-being of all Indonesian citizens.
Figure 3. Annual PM2.5 averages in Jabodetabek cities against WHO 2021 AQG and NAAQS
Figure 11. Insight on emission levels of coal power plants nearest Jakarta and distribution of those with the highest health impacts across Java
