The Indonesian authorities have decided to send the capital’s civil servants to work remotely for two months due to severe smog, Bloomberg has reported.
They hope that reducing the traffic congestion in Jakarta will help to clear the air, which is not only causing billions of losses for the country’s economy, but also killing thousands of its citizens every year.
Half of the civil servants in Jakarta started working from home today, and their share will increase to 75% of all the capital’s civil servants in September. The order does not apply to emergency workers, as well as hospitals and public transport. The acting governor of Jakarta ordered the remote work regime to last until October 21. The city authorities also require that civil servants do not leave their homes unless absolutely necessary and will check their compliance.
The air pollution level in Jakarta often exceeds acceptable levels and reaches dangerous levels for health. In recent days, the city with a population of more than 10 million people was, according to IQAir, the leader in air pollution in the world. The Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy estimates that the country’s economic losses from smog are $1.4 bn. And according to a study by a group of scientists from Indonesia, Singapore and the US, smog takes the lives of at least 10 thousand Indonesians every year.
The situation was worsened by a prolonged period of no rain this year, which allowed pollutants to accumulate in the air. As Indonesian media note, the constant coughing of Indonesian President Joko Widodo in recent weeks is also likely due to smog. There are fears that the smog situation may create an unpleasant background for the summit of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, which is scheduled to take place in Jakarta on September 5–7.
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