Jakarta, CNBC Indonesia – Over the past week, air quality in Jakarta, Bogor, Depok, Tangerang and Bekasi (Jabodetabek) has been in the bad category. In fact, Jakarta once occupied the first position as the country with the dirtiest air in the world, Thursday (10/8/2023).
Regarding these conditions, Clinical & Scientific Lead AsaRen, dr. Meryl Kallman, urged everyone to reduce outdoor activities, especially if the Air Quality Index (AQI) hits a high number, which is above 50.
If you still have to do activities outside the room, the doctor who is often called Mimi also asks the public to return to routinely wearing masks and breathing through the nose. Because the nose isair purifiers‘ human nature.
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Photo: Jakarta’s sky covered with pollution (CNBC Indonesia/Muhammad Sabki)
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“If you have to do activities outside, you should use a respirator mask, such as the N95. Then, you need to remember to breathe through your nose because the nose is a kind of ‘air filter’ (air filter) built in,” said dr. Mimi to CNBC Indonesia in Jakarta, Monday (14/7/2023).
“When we inhale, we have to inhale through our nose. If we breathe through our mouth, there is more pollution that can enter the lungs,” he added.
For information, nose hairs function to filter inhaled dirt, viruses, bacteria, and toxins. Thanks to the filtering of the nose hairs, fewer pollutants will enter the body so that the risk of diseases caused by pollutants is lower.
According to PopularSciencescientists from the University School of Medicine in Turkey found that people with few nose hairs were three times more likely to develop asthma than those with lots of nose hair.
In addition to hair, the nose also has cilia which function to filter out small molecules that are at risk of harming the throat. Cilia work by collecting mucus when coughing or swallowing. When swallowing the mucus, stomach acid will destroy these molecules.
Meanwhile, President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) said that there were a number of factors driving the worsening air quality in Jabodetabek, namely the long dry season for the last three months, emissions from transportation, and industrial activities.
Jokowi said that one of the things that can be done to overcome air quality problems and avoid the risk of disease for the Jabodetabek people due to pollution is to re-implement the Work from Home (WFH) system.
“If needed, we must have the courage to encourage many offices to implement hybrid working, work from office, work from home,” Jokowi said via upload on his personal Instagram account (@Jokowi), Monday (14/8/2023).
Apart from that, Jokowi also asked the government to be massive and firm in limiting the use of motorized vehicles or vehicles with fossil fuels.
“In the medium term, I ask government officials to consistently implement policies to reduce the use of fossil-based vehicles, encouraging all parties to switch to mass transportation such as the LRT, MRT, and fast trains,” said Jokowi.
[Gambas:Video CNBC]
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