Jakarta – The Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) found correlation between air quality and climate change, officials said in a written release Friday (1/4). The agency said poor air quality causes increasing temperature and in turn accelerates adverse impacts of climate change.
BMKG greenhouse gases information sub-sector coordinator Alberth Nahas said that “there is a connection if the air quality of an area is poor, impacts of climate change will also worsen due to the increase in temperature that occurs.”
Based on BMKG monitoring, Nahas explained that in Jakarta and several cities on the island of Sumatra concentration trends in Jakarta still show fairly high levels of pollution, especially fine particles or particulate matter (PM) 2.5 that can travel deeply into the respiratory tracts. He said, one location in Sumatra showed the trend of greenhouse gases, especially for CO2 concentrations, was also continuing to increase.
“We have also been monitoring changes in temperature. From the data we have from 1980 to 2021, we recorded an average increase in temperature throughout Indonesia,” Nahas said, adding that the increase in temperature has an impact on climate change which causes changes in seasonal patterns.
He said that patterns of the rainy season and dry season could interchange, which means high levels of rain can fall during a predicted dry season and vice versa. “The impact or consequences can be disasters such as floods, forest fires and haze, all of which are derivatives of what has happened due to climate change,” said Nahas.
PM 2.5 pollutants can increase due to heat, fire and environmental pollution. If inhaled, these airborne particles can be harmful to the body, especially the lungs and heart. (Hartatik)
