Air quality in Bandar Lampung

Is Bandar Lampung a heavily polluted city now?

Bandar Lampung is the capital and largest city of the Indonesian province of Lampung. It is located at the southern tip of Sumatra and is the fourth largest city. According to a census conducted in 2020. Bandar Lampung had an estimated population of approximately 1,166,066 people.

During the third quarter of 2021, Bandar Lampung was experiencing a period of “Moderate” air quality with a US AQI reading of 90. This United States Air Quality Index figure is used as a metric when comparing one city with another, anywhere in the world. It is calculated by collating the recorded levels of six of the most prolific air pollutants. These can include, both diameters of PM (PM10, PM2.5), nitrogen dioxide, sulphur dioxide, ozone and carbon monoxide. If figures are not available for all six, a level can still be calculated by using what information there is.

For Bandar Lampung there were four pollutant levels recorded which were; PM2.5 - 30.8 µg/m³, PM10 - 98.1 µg/m³, ozone (O₃) - 102 µg/m³ and sulphur dioxide (SO₂) - 49.9 µg/m³. These figures are quoted in micrograms (microns) per cubic metre. This level of PM2.5 is just over three times higher than the suggested level of 10 µg/m³ which is a level to be acceptable by the World Health Organisation (WHO), although no amount of air pollution is considered to be safe.

With a level of pollution such as this, the given advice would be to remain indoors as much as possible and to close all windows and doors to prevent the ingress of more polluted air. 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. There is a downloadable app from AirVisual which is available from the app store for most mobile devices which will give you the latest information regarding air quality in real-time.

Does the level of air pollution vary throughout the year in Bandar Lampung?

Air quality can be influenced by many variables and can therefore change quite quickly. Having said that, looking back at figures provided by IQAir.com, the air quality in Southern Sumatra remained fairly constant throughout the year. Each month returned figures from the “Moderate” category with figures between 12.1 and 35.4 µg/m³. The best time of year seems to be early to late spring with figures around the 18.0 µg/m³ mark. The worst month was December when the figure rose sharply to 35.0 µg/m³. There were no records kept before 2020 when the annual average was recorded as being 23.4 µg/m³. This figure may well have been affected by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic when many vehicles were no longer in daily use as their drivers were not required to drive to the office every day. There were also several small factories and processing units that were closed temporarily so their emissions were no longer part of the local atmosphere.

Where does the polluted air come from in Bandar Lampung?

Bandar Lampung City is the capital city of Lampung Province and is one of the most densely populated cities in the province. It certainly has air that is not as fresh and clean as other districts. The Air Quality Index in Bandar Lampung City itself, the air quality is currently at one level below good, this is probably caused by the density of vehicles in the city. Because the density of vehicles is one of the causes of air pollution in an area, another factor that contributes to air pollution is emissions from industry.

During the last five years, there has been no increase in Green Open Space in Bandar Lampung City and even tends to decrease. The Green Open Space within the city stands at 11.08 per cent, which is still far from the ideal number, which should ideally be at least 20 per cent of public green open space. This is due to the transfer of functions and even the disappearance of places that were originally green open spaces and then turned into business and office buildings, tourist attractions and some have even become rock and soil mining locations. The Green Open Space is still not optimal and needs supervision both in terms of environmental care and designation. This is due to the transfer of functions and even disappearance, the places that were originally green open space became business and office buildings. Green open space in the city can also at least suppress climate change, so that green open space can be a mitigation in the rate of greenhouse gas emissions, especially in urban areas.

What can be done to improve the air quality in Bandar Lampung?

Emissions from private vehicles are one of the main contributors to congestion and air pollution in the city. With the switch from personal vehicles to public transport, air pollution due to exhaust fumes can be reduced.

Cycling or walking is an easy way to do when you want to travel a short distance. In addition to not producing pollution, cycling and walking are also good for body health.

However, you are advised to avoid busy and congested highways or roads when walking or cycling to avoid exposure to vehicle smoke pollution.

Some people may think that burning garbage can reduce the problem of landfilling. In fact, this bad habit is one of the causes of air pollution.

The smoke from burning waste is harmful to the health of the body because it contains toxic substances.

Exposure to smoke from burning garbage or smog in the long term is known to increase the risk of various health problems, such as respiratory infections, heart and lung disorders, COPD and cancer.

What are the detrimental effects on human health through breathing polluted air?

The impact of air pollution can cause: asthma relapse, lung cancer, increase the risk of heart disease, inhibit child development, low birth weight of the foetus, and so on.

Harmful substances such as black carbon and nitrogen oxides, which are found in vehicle exhaust, can increase the risk of heart disease. Exposure to poor quality air can inhibit lung development in children. As a result, the lungs cannot function optimally as adults.

The most common effects of air pollution, such as coughing and shortness of breath, can occur. However, other conditions such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease can also get worse, in the presence of dirty air.