Activists warn on Indonesian air quality

Air pollution in Indonesian cities has reached "alarming" levels, according to a group of activists in the country.

Government officials from the state ministry for the environment and the transportation ministry have linked up with activists to establish the Forum for Indonesian Clean Air.

In an interview with the Jakarta Post, Ahmad Safruddin, one of the founders of the forum, said: "The air quality has frequently been dangerously unhealthy. The country needs extra efforts to clean the air through sustainable transportation management to minimize air pollution."

According to the publication, motor vehicles are a major source of pollutants in many Indonesian cities.

Mr Safruddin claimed that metropolitan areas such as Jakarta and Surabaya experience fewer than 27 days a year of healthy air.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has developed guidelines to help countries around the world improve air quality and reduce levels of dangerous pollutants.

According to WHO research, reducing the levels of just one type of pollutant - particulate matter - could reduce deaths directly linked to sub-standard air quality by 15 per cent.

The body estimates that two million people die around the world each year as a result of air pollution.

Posted by Joseph Hutton