Review of Photochemical Smog Pollution in Jakarta Metropolitan, Indonesia

Abstract

An analysis of photochemical smog pollution in Jakarta was attempted using data from the existing air quality monitoring stations. Ground-level ozone potential is high in Jakarta due to the high traffic emissions of ozone precursors and the favorable surface meteorological conditions. Despite the frequent missing data during the 1996-1999 monitoring, which resulted in lower ozone values, ozone episodes were significantly recorded in 1997-1998. The number of hours on which ozone concentrations exceed the 1-hour standard (100 ppb) at an ambient station located in Kelapa Gading (10 km northeast of city center) was 186 hrs in 1997 and 571 hrs in 1998. El Niño phenomenon in 1997-1998 had affected the local meteorology leading to more favorable conditions for photochemical production of ozone. The annual ozone averages in ambient stations located off the city center have exceeded the 1-year standard limit (15 ppb). Although the annual average and 95-percentile values indicated an increasing trend from 1996 to 1998, the trend remains to be seen in the future as more complete data could be expected from the new monitoring system. The number of hours on which ozone exceed the 1-hour standard and the annual average tend to be increasing since 2001 to 2002 in all 3 newly operated stations. The seasonal variations of ozone indicate that ozone level is highest in the dry season (September-November) and is lowest in the wet season (December-March). Correlation between ozone level and meteorological attributes (solar radiation, relative humidity and temperature) was significant at 0.01 confidence level. The diurnal cycle of ozone and its precursors is clearly shown and is typical for polluted urban areas. Improvement of the database of air quality monitoring is very critical for Jakarta. Through better database management, the development and monitoring of cost-effective air pollution control strategy can be made.