The most polluted major city in the world is this nation's capital. This isn't Delhi

 The most polluted major city in the world is this nation's capital. This isn't Delhi

This week, the megalopolis of Jakarta and its environs has outperformed other highly polluted cities like Riyadh, Doha, and Lahore.

Jakarta: According to air quality monitoring company IQAir, Jakarta has overtaken other big cities as the most polluted in the world, leading international rankings for days as officials struggle to control a surge in deadly haze. According to the United Nations, air pollution is the largest environmental health concern, estimated to cause seven million premature deaths annually.

The city and its surrounding areas make up a megalopolis of over 30 million people, outpacing other severely polluted cities like Riyadh, Doha, and Lahore all week in terms of PM2.5 concentration. Since Monday, it has dominated the Swiss firm IQAir's pollution statistics rating, which primarily covers large cities. This is according to an AFP count.

When compared to WHO recommendations, Jakarta frequently has "unhealthy" levels of PM2.5, which can enter the lungs and cause respiratory issues. As the nation prepares to shift its capital to Nusantara on Borneo island next year, President Joko Widodo said to reporters on Monday that he aims to reduce "Jakarta's burden" to reduce pollution levels.

Additionally, he said that the proposed metro rail system for Jakarta "must be finished" to cut down on pollution. Residents are worried about how industrial smoke, excessive traffic, and pollution from coal-fired power plants are affecting their quality of life and health.

"I have to always wear a mask. My body and my face are hurting, too," said Anggy Violita, a 32-year-old officer in Jakarta who works for AFP. "Last week, my whole family was sick for a week, and the doctor told me to stay indoors," the mother of two remarked.

The government was ordered to clean up the city's chronic air pollution after a court decided in favour of a case brought by activists and people against the government in 2021. The court also found that Widodo and other senior officials had been neglectful in safeguarding the city's population. From 2023 onward, Indonesia has promised to halt the construction of new coal-fired power facilities and achieve carbon neutrality by 2050.

Nevertheless, the government is enlarging Java island's massive Suralaya coal plant, one of the biggest in Southeast Asia, despite protests from campaigners. 10 coal-fired power stations are reportedly in operation within a 100-kilometer (62-mile) radius of the nation's capital, according to Greenpeace Indonesia.