Transboundary Air Quality Alert: Jakarta, Indonesia Most polluted major city – IQAir

Report on Air Quality Degradation in Southeast Asia and its Implications for Sustainable Development Goals

Executive Summary

On July 24-25, 2025, significant air quality degradation was recorded across western Indonesia and western Malaysia. The deterioration is attributed to a combination of transboundary haze from forest and peatland fires, industrial and vehicular emissions, and prevailing dry season conditions. This event severely impacts the region’s progress towards key United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly those concerning health, sustainable cities, and environmental protection.

Regional Air Quality Status: July 25, 2025

Data recorded at 4:30 AM MYT indicated hazardous air quality levels in several major urban centers. The global ranking of most polluted major cities highlighted the severity of the situation in the region:

1. Jakarta, Indonesia
2. Kuching, Malaysia
3. Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
4. Batam, Indonesia
5. Medan, Indonesia

The proximity of cities such as Kuala Lumpur and Medan (approximately 210 miles apart across the Malacca Strait) facilitates the regional spread of airborne pollutants.

Analysis of Causative Factors

The poor air quality is a result of multiple compounding factors, which challenge environmental sustainability and governance. Key contributors include:

• Forest and Peatland Fires: Numerous fires on the Indonesian island of Sumatra are a primary source of smoke. These incidents are common during the region’s dry season (June-December), peaking between August and October.
• Agricultural Land Clearing: Intentional and often illegal burning for land clearing, particularly for palm oil plantations, is a significant contributor to the transboundary haze. This practice directly undermines sustainable land management.
• Climatic Conditions: Moderate to extreme drought conditions across peninsular Malaysia and Sumatra exacerbate the risk and intensity of fires.
• Urban Emissions: In major metropolitan areas like Jakarta, high concentrations of industrial pollution and vehicle emissions are persistent contributors to poor air quality, compounding the effects of the haze.

Implications for Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

The ongoing air pollution crisis presents a substantial obstacle to achieving several SDGs:

• SDG 3: Good Health and Well-being: The hazardous air quality poses immediate and long-term health risks to millions of people, including respiratory illnesses and other chronic conditions. This directly contravenes the goal of ensuring healthy lives and promoting well-being for all ages.
• SDG 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities: With cities like Jakarta, Kuala Lumpur, and Kuching ranking among the world’s most polluted, the objective of making cities inclusive, safe, resilient, and sustainable is critically compromised. Air pollution degrades urban living conditions and public health infrastructure.
• SDG 15: Life on Land: The root causes of the pollution, including forest fires, peatland degradation, and deforestation for agriculture, represent a direct assault on terrestrial ecosystems. These activities lead to biodiversity loss and desertification, undermining efforts to protect and restore life on land.
• SDG 13: Climate Action: Large-scale biomass burning releases vast quantities of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, contributing to global climate change. This cycle of pollution and environmental degradation works against urgent action needed to combat climate change and its impacts.

Governmental Response

In response to the deteriorating conditions, the Malaysian Department of the Environment issued air quality alerts for nine areas on July 22, 2025, signaling official recognition of the public health threat.

SDGs Addressed in the Article

1. SDG 3: Good Health and Well-being

   • The article’s central theme is poor air quality, a significant public health concern. It discusses cities like Jakarta being “the most polluted major city” and mentions the need to “protect myself from poor air quality,” directly linking air pollution to human health and well-being.

2. SDG 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities

   • The article focuses on air pollution within major urban centers, including Jakarta, Kuching, and Kuala Lumpur. It highlights the environmental challenges faced by these cities, such as “Industrial pollution and vehicle emissions,” which are key concerns for urban sustainability.

3. SDG 15: Life on Land

   • The article identifies primary causes of the poor air quality as “forest fire smoke and peatland burning” and “Intentional, illegal land clearing by palm oil plantations.” These activities represent direct threats to terrestrial ecosystems, forests, and biodiversity, which SDG 15 aims to protect.

Specific Targets Identified

1. Target 3.9: Substantially reduce the number of deaths and illnesses from hazardous chemicals and air, water and soil pollution and contamination.

   • The entire article is a discussion of air pollution, a key element of this target. The ranking of cities by pollution levels and the issuance of “air quality alerts” underscore the health risks from contaminated air that this target seeks to mitigate.

2. Target 11.6: Reduce the adverse per capita environmental impact of cities, including by paying special attention to air quality.

   • This target is directly addressed by the article’s focus on the poor air quality in major cities. The mention of Jakarta as the “most polluted major city” and the contribution of “Industrial pollution and vehicle emissions” points specifically to the environmental impact of cities that this target aims to reduce.

3. Target 15.2: Promote the implementation of sustainable management of all types of forests, halt deforestation, restore degraded forests and substantially increase afforestation and reforestation globally.

   • The article links the air quality crisis to “forest fire smoke” and “Intentional, illegal land clearing by palm oil plantations.” These are direct examples of unsustainable forest management and deforestation that this target is designed to combat.

Indicators Mentioned or Implied

1. Indicator 11.6.2: Annual mean levels of fine particulate matter (e.g. PM2.5) in cities.

   • The article provides a “Ranked list of most polluted cities” from IQAir. This ranking is based on the Air Quality Index (AQI), which is a direct measurement of air pollutants, including fine particulate matter (PM2.5). The real-time data and city rankings serve as a direct indicator of air quality in urban areas.

2. Implied Indicator: Extent of forest area affected by fires and illegal clearing.

   • While not providing a specific number, the article implies this indicator by stating that “Several fires have broken out on Sumatra Island” and that “Intentional, illegal land clearing” is a cause. Measuring the frequency and area of these fires and land clearing activities would be a way to track progress on Target 15.2.

3. Implied Indicator: Number of government-issued environmental alerts.

   • The article states that “Air quality alerts were issued in nine areas of Malaysia by the Department of the Environment.” This action serves as an indicator of a government’s capacity to monitor environmental quality and inform the public, which is a component of managing urban environmental impact (Target 11.6) and protecting public health (Target 3.9).

Summary of Findings

Source: iqair.com