Indonesia's Unceasing Struggle with Smog: School Shutdowns in Provinces

By Sushmita Roy

After becoming the first country to move its capital due to climate change, Indonesia is still struggling with environmental issues that require quicker and better combat strategies. On Tuesday, several schools in Palembang, the capital of Indonesia’s South Sumatra province shut due to worsening air quality in the country.

According to the IQAirVisual index, which tracks the air quality of cities around the world in real-time, Indonesian cities including Jakarta, Palembang, Jambungtimur and Jambi are among the top cities with the worst air quality in the world.

An estimated 7,390 Jakartans die early every year due to high levels of unhealthy particulate matter in the air. PC: CIFOR/ Flickr

An estimated 7,390 Jakartans die early every year due to high levels of unhealthy particulate matter in the air. PC: CIFOR/ Flickr



An estimated 7,390 Jakartans die early every year due to high levels of unhealthy particulate matter in the air. PC: CIFOR/ Flickr

El Nino weather patterns — a climate routine that occurs when sea surface temperatures rise above normal — have intensified dry-season fires that are often caused by the slash-and-burn clearing of forests and bush for farming, according to Reuters. Although an early monsoon season was supposed to provide relief, for now, chances seem slim. 

Environmental activists and some scientists claim that fires are a direct result of forest clearance for palm plantations. "These kinds of fires have raged every year since the 1990s, and are usually the result of plantations setting land on fire to clear it for replanting. It can also be caused when the jungle is set alight so other crops such as palm oil or acacia can be grown instead," Aisyah Llewellyn, a journalist investigating the effects of forest fires in Indonesia, wrote in Al Jazeera.




"As the flames ravage the already parched land, they set fire to neighboring fields and jungle, which in turn burn out of control. To call the results of the fires 'smoke' would be too kind, it’s a toxic cocktail of tar, ash, pesticides and carbon monoxide that envelopes everything," she wrote.

The country recently warned its citizens of more incoming smoke from forest fires. The health hazards of air pollution and increasing smog are faced by citizens every day. In fact, earlier this year, dozens of people sued the Indonesian government over its failure to address the dire issue. 

Scientists say that exposure to smoke from the forest fires could lead to 36,000 premature deaths a year on average across Indonesia, and neighboring countries Singapore and Malaysia over the next few decades if trends continue.

An estimated 7,390 Jakartans die early every year due to high levels of unhealthy particulate matter in the air. The dangerous levels of air pollution are also the cause for low birth weights in about 2,000 babies each year, according to Greenpeace Indonesia. Sixteen out of 44 sub-districts in Jakarta list “upper respiratory infection” as the leading cause of illness.

“As a protective measure against smog, all students, teachers, and administrative employees are urged to wear face masks while they are in schools and on the way to and from schools,” Jambi government spokesman Abu Bakar, was quoted as saying.




EnvironmentSushmita Roy