Heaptalk, Jakarta – Many people assumed that morning is the most appropriate time to exercise, considering the air condition remains fresh and cool. However, for the resident that lives in Jakarta and its buffer area, the mindset about pollution cannot be applied. In contrast, Jabodetabek’s air condition in the morning even contains a greater number of pollution, threatening people who take outdoor exercise.
In 2020, according to World Air Quality Index 2020, IQAir placed South Tangerang as the most polluted city in South East Asia, and Jakarta ranked 7th. The fact was nothing short of astonishing, perceiving the city’s high mobility is not neutralized by the green activities. A handful of factories that were built in the area around Jakarta, such as Cikarang and Bekasi, also contributed to spike the air pollution is at an alarming rate.
People presume that the air will be recycled at night and returns clean in the morning due to the temperature around that time is colder than at noon or evening. The mindset leads people to conclude that the best time to take exercise is in the morning. Conversely, Nafas, an application that demonstrated the air quality index in Jakarta and its surrounding area, reported that morning is the most dangerous time to conduct outdoor exercise as the highest rate of pollution occurred around that time.
The data was obtained from the censors that Nafas placed in the 45 sites around Jakarta and its buffer cities. The censors can count the real-time pollution rate, that is shown through particulate matter (PM) 2.5 rate, an international standard to calculate the number of pollutant in the air. Particular matter 2.5 is a material sized 2.5 microns or less generated from a chemical reaction formed by human activities. The tiny size of this particular can penetrate a human’s lung and bloodstream and causing a health problem. For this reason, this particular becomes the most dangerous substance compares to others that have a bigger size. The PM 2.5 rate then indicates how friendly the air quality in an area for people.
Nafas air pollution indicator revealed that several areas in Jabodetabek were at the level of unhealthy and very unhealthy from 04.00 am to 09.00 am. In November 2020, Nafas announced that Jabodetabek has a PM 2.5 rate of around 70 to 135, which means that people are dangerous to conduct outdoor exercise for more than 90 minutes. South Tangerang and Bekasi hold the highest PM 2.5 rate by reaching the PM 2.5 rate of more than 150. The number implies that to avoid the health problem causing by the pollution, the duration for people to carry out outdoor activities in the areas is only 30 minutes.
Additionally, in November 2020, the best time that presents the air quality even occurred when people are awake and doing their daily activities with the PM 2.5 rate was between the rate of 35 to 55, namely around 09.00 am to 17.00 pm. Meanwhile, the PM 2.5 highest rate appeared in the middle of night at 00.00. (WLN)
