Air pollution hangs over Asian Games

Indonesia is about to open the Asian Games but its traffic-clogged capital Jakarta remains shrouded in a haze of air pollution that threatens to mar the world’s second-biggest multi-sport event.

Jakarta’s toxic skies have been stuck at unhealthy levels for weeks despite drastic efforts to cut down on congestion, including an odd-even licence plate system and the closure of some schools and toll roads.

The city’s air-quality index reading hovered around 107 on Friday, posing a danger for people sensitive to air pollution including those with respiratory problems.

But the index has regularly topped 150 this month, which is considered a health threat to the general population. A reading over 300 is seen as hazardous.

About 16,000 athletes and officials from 45 Asian countries and regions – along with hordes of sports-crazy tourists – are flocking to Jakarta and co-host city Palembang for the showpiece event, which kicks off Saturday.

Athletes competing indoors will be relatively unaffected, but it’s a different story for outside sports like athletics, archery, baseball, softball and rugby, said Budi Haryanto, an air pollution and health expert at the University of Indonesia.

Competing in an environment with dirty air limits athletes’ ability to perform at their best, he noted, with Jakarta’s average 31 C temperatures already threatening to leave competitors drenched in sweat.

It’s a worry for racewalker Hendro Yap, 17, who hails from Indonesia’s cultural capital Yogyakarta where the climate is cooler and less polluted.

Yap, who broke the Southeast Asian Games record last year in Kuala Lumpur for 20-kilometer race walking, said he finds competing in Jakarta a challenge.

“For [people] who are used to running in Jakarta... it might be slightly easier,” he said.

“But it’s still very hard. You sweat more. And in Jakarta it’s so polluted... that it’s hard to perform.”