Air quality in Iskandar Puteri

What is the current air quality index of Iskandar Puteri?

Iskandar Puteri is a city in Johor Bahru District, Johor, Malaysia. It is located in the southernmost part of the Malay Peninsular and is next to Johor Bahru. It overlooks the Straits of Johor and therefore Singapore. The city itself had a population of 529,074 in 2010, but when combined with its neighbours, it forms a large urban agglomeration with a population of 1.8 million people.

In early 2021, Iskandar Puteri was experiencing a period of “Moderate” air quality with a US AQI reading of 72. This classification is in line with the recommendations from the World Health Organisation (WHO). The recorded concentration of PM2.5 was 22.1 µg/m³. With such relatively high levels, the advice is to close doors and windows to prevent the ingress of dirty air into the room and those of a sensitive disposition should avoid venturing outside until the air quality improves. If this is unavoidable, then a good quality face mask should be worn at all times.

Is the air in Iskandar Puteri very polluted?

In Malaysia, pollutants from the combustion of fossil fuels emitted by vehicles are one of the main cause of air pollution in Malaysia. In 2011, Malaysian roads had more than 21 million registered vehicles and that number is very likely to be higher now and all those cars are producing dangerous gases that are detrimental to our health.

Out of over 1 million new vehicles registered in 2009, cars made up the highest number with over 50 per cent, followed by motorcycles at about 43 per cent.

Pollution also comes from hazardous smoke released by factories and industries where filtration is inefficient or due to a lack of enforcement, mining operations, agricultural activities, and indoor air pollution.

What are the main sources of air pollution in Iskandar Puteri?

It would appear that the main source of air pollution in Iskandar Puteri is smoke from forest and peat fires from neighbouring Indonesia. Sometimes it can become such a problem that schools are being closed so as to protect the children from the pollutants.

Large areas of the local rainforest are burnt off to clear the land for palm oil production or other agricultural purposes. The smoke is carried naturally by the south-west monsoon winds. East Malaysia is also affected by the fires in Kalimantan province.

The toxicity of the smoke can vary depending on what matter was burnt. Peat fires are the worst type because of their emissions and because they smoulder underground, they are the hardest to extinguish.

Indonesia cannot take 100 per cent of the blames as certain parts of Malaysia also practice this open-burn policy, even though it is illegal.

The Department of the environment has an Air Pollutant Index (API) which reveals the level of pollution:

• 0-50 good
• 51-100 moderate
• 101-200 unhealthy
• 201-299 very unhealthy
• 300 and above hazardous

If the API exceeds 500, then a state of emergency is declared in that area. This often involves the suspension of non-essential services.

The highest reading ever recorded was in September 2015 when the API in Palangkaraya (Kalimantan) reached a whopping 1,986!

The air pollutants included in Malaysia's API are ozone (O₃), carbon monoxide (CO), nitrogen dioxide (NO₂), sulphur dioxide (SO₂) and particulate matter with a diameter of less than 10 microns (PM10).

Can the quality of Iskandar Puteri’s air be improved?

Malaysia has one of the highest levels of car ownership per person in the world and this has led to very high levels of carbon monoxide (CO) pollution in all its major cities.

Smart cars and better public transportation policies are the answers to this problem, so the people and the government must work together in a coalition that would go against the emissions of greenhouse gases from vehicles. Electric or hybrid vehicles must be considered as part of the future of personal transportation. Car sharing or pooling could be introduced by companies for their staff. And, of course, walking and cycling should be widely encouraged.

Reducing levels of global air pollution is one of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDG)s agreed by 193 world leaders as a blueprint for development over the period 2015-2030. Achieving this goal will not be easy due to the source of the pollution. The “home-grown” pollution from vehicles can be tackled with relative ease, but it is the smog from Indonesia that will require international cooperation before that problem can be rectified. As part of the ASEAN group of nations, international allies must work together.

What are the health implications of breathing in Iskandar Puteri’s polluted air?

Those who inhale polluted air are at risk of contracting various diseases due to infections in the airways so that some can be fatal.

The respiratory tract is divided into two parts, the upper part covering the nose, ears and throat, while the lower part is the trachea, bronchi, alveoli and lungs.

Respiratory tract infections are caused by viruses or bacteria that attack both adults and children. Individual responses to air pollution vary depending on the type of pollutant exposed, the level of exposure and the state of health, and a person's genetic factors. Air pollutants can cause a variety of health effects, from biochemical and physiological changes to difficulty breathing, coughing, and respiratory and heart disorders. If left untreated, the condition can cause a person to be hospitalised or possibly cause early death.

Air quality can affect the quality of health as it has an impact on the health of the lungs and the entire respiratory system. In addition to oxygen, air contains other substances such as pollutants, which can be harmful to health. Inhalation of these pollutants may adversely affect the lungs and other organs of the body.

The respiratory system is very sensitive to air pollution because it consists of a mucous membrane covering its inner surface. The lungs are designed to absorb large amounts of air in close contact with blood flow and facilitate oxygen transportation.

When polluted air is inhaled, it is absorbed by the blood and transported to the heart. A variety of chemicals and biology can directly affect the cardiovascular system and result in structural damage, such as degenerative reactions and inflammatory necrosis. Some pollutants can also affect the contractility of the heart. If this functional change is serious enough, it can lead to fatal arrhythmias.