"We handle what has not been addressed previously, which is Jakarta's unhealthy air," he told the press after attending a coordination meeting in Jakarta on Monday.
He noted that handling air pollution in Jakarta and its surrounding areas is carried out based on various studies conducted by several parties so far.
The government will tackle multiple sources of Jakarta's air pollution, with a particular focus on transportation emissions, as vehicle exhaust fumes contribute around 30 to 40 percent of the city's overall air contamination.
Nurofiq specifically highlighted the contribution of large vehicles, such as trucks and buses, which are suspected of being the biggest contributors to Jakarta's air pollution.
In this regard, the ministry plans to coordinate with the Ministry of Transportation to install filters in the exhaust system of those vehicles.
The ministry will also coordinate with the Indonesian National Armed Forces (TNI), the National Police (Polri), and regional governments to manage 60 open-burning locations, as well as industries or parties that still utilize coal-fired boilers.
"Weather modification operations by the Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) and the National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) are important to be carried out. We will significantly reduce those that can potentially cause unhealthy air in Jakarta," he added.
He ensured that the government would start moving to address the air pollution issue in Jakarta early next year, with weather modification expected to begin in the May-June 2025 period.
Weather modification will be carried out considering Jakarta's vulnerability to flooding.
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Translator: Prisca Triferna, Raka Adji
Editor: Azis Kurmala
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