Reuters news agency highlighted two concerns about Indonesia ahead of the hosting of the Asian Games which runs from 18 August to 3 September 2018. First, the Government of Indonesia's efforts to address air pollution ahead of the Asian Games 2018.
In the report, the media said there were fears of air pollution in two cities of the Asian Games 2018 organizers, namely Jakarta and Palembang. Concerns that arise due to the rise of unhealthy air in the capital city of Jakarta. While Palembang has an air police threat that is not less big with Jakarta, namely forest fires and land.
"The main pollutant sources in Jakarta are mostly traffic and industry, while in Palembang, especially from burning peatlands," said Hsiang-He Lee of the MIT-Singapore Research and Technology Alliance.
Second, Reuters writes that traffic congestion in Indonesia is among the worst in the world. Although the Indonesian government has made various efforts to improve air quality, the World Health Organization (WHO) says air quality in cities with a population of 10 million is unsafe.
Asian Games 2018 is targeted to attract nearly 17 thousand athletes and officials, as well as more than 100 thousand spectators. Inevitably the organizers of the Asian Games (Inasgoc) are working hard with city officials to tackle pollution.
"It is hoped that there will be better air quality at Asian competition venues," Reuters reported Thursday (7/19/2018) quoting organizers on Tuesday (17/7/2018).
DKI Jakarta Provincial Government considers several rules, including expansion of odd-even rules for private cars, special track arrangements for sporting events, and the creation of parks. This method is called to adopt the steps that have been done big cities of Asia, namely Beijing. During the 2008 Olympics, the Beijing Government restricted traffic and closed the plant to improve air quality.
Quoting Environmental Health Expert University of Indonesia Budi Haryanto, Reuters reports that Jakarta's average score on the Air Quality Index (AQI) has exceeded 100 in the past week. In fact, on Tuesday (17/7/2018) at 11:00 pm, AQI Real-Time Index shows the air quality in Jakarta is in the range of "unhealthy" in the number 171.
Haryanto stressed the importance of good air quality so that athletes can show maximum performance during the race. He calls on the air if AQI shows a number less than 50. In addition to affecting the performance of players, poor air quality also affects the lung health of cardiovascular disease and cancer.
Last week, Asian Games 2018 Organizing Committee (Inasgoc) Chairman Erick Thohir told reporters that he understood the concern over the smoke haze. However, he believes efforts to control the fires proved successful.
Source: Republika
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