Nasionalberita.com – Referring to data from the air quality monitoring platform Nafas Indonesia, the Bandung Metropolitan Area encompassing Kota Bandung, Cimahi, Bandung Barat, and up to Kabupaten Bandung, has become one of the regions with high levels of PM2.5 pollutants on August 14-15.
The Bandung Metropolitan Area falls under the red category or unhealthy classification for nearly 12 hours. This signifies that the concentration of PM2.5 pollutants is above 55 µg/m³.
“On Tuesday, August 15, the air quality report spanned 12 hours (8 PM – 8 AM). Consistently poor conditions: Kabupaten Bekasi, Tangerang Selatan, Bandung Barat,” the @nafasidn account tweeted on Tuesday (15/8).
Nafas Indonesia also unveiled hourly air pollution measurement data from Monday (14/8) at 8:00 PM Western Indonesia Time (WIB) to Tuesday (15/8) at 8:00 AM WIB.
The results were displayed using numerical indicators and colors. The color red indicates Unhealthy, while the color orange or amber indicates Unhealthy for sensitive groups.
Ultimately, Bandung Barat and Cimahi continued to display red colors each hour during that time frame; Kabupaten Bandung briefly showed an orange color on Monday (14/8) from 8:00 PM to 9:00 PM WIB.
Kabupaten Bandung exhibited an orange color on Monday from 8:00 PM to 9:00 PM WIB, while the rest of the time it remained red; Kota Bandung displayed an orange color on Monday from 8:00 PM to 10:00 PM WIB and also from 01:00 AM to 02:00 AM WIB.
Some time ago, Erma Yulihastin, a researcher in Climatology from the Center for Atmospheric Science and Technology Research at BRIN, posted a morning view from the area of Kota Baru Parahyangan, Padalarang, Bandung Barat.
Erma mentioned that the mist-like morning view was actually a view of pollution.
“I recorded this video around 7 AM, the location is in Kota Baru Parahyangan, Padalarang, Bandung Barat. After observing it closely, the hazy mist is actually pollutants suspended in the air. This is evidence that it’s not only Jakarta, but the air in Bandung is also unhealthy,” Erma tweeted in her post on Saturday (12/8).
She disclosed that the high concentration of pollutants in the Bandung Barat region is a result of the movement of pollutants from the Kota Bandung area.
“Research findings indicate that the trajectory of pollutants in Kota Bandung moves westward every day, causing pollution from Kota Bandung to settle in the Bandung Barat region,” she explained.
Despite today being a public holiday, Thursday (17/8), with the air appearing green indicating good conditions, Bandung has been plagued by pollution since early August.
Kota Bandung has experienced poor daily air quality, ranging from orange to red categories, throughout this week.
Measurements were taken from two locations, namely Setra Duta and RespoKare Mask, in Setrasari.
The worst air quality was recorded on Tuesday (15/8) with a value of 154 AQI US. The air quality in this area is expected to improve on Thursday (17/8) with a value of 84 AQI US.
Meanwhile, the air quality in Bandung will remain in the orange category until the end of the week, with index values ranging from 106-141 AQI US.
