- Nyepi Day is a commemoration of
the Saka New Year for Hindus in Bali which is carried out by prohibiting
activities outside the home for 24 hours.
- BMKG measures particulate
pollutants and compares them with normal days.
- Nyepi this year reduces total
dust particulates by almost 50% compared to normal days in the last 2
years.
- However, does Nyepi also
encourage people's ecological awareness?
It
is easy to estimate that there will be a decrease in emissions during Nyepi Day
in Bali because for 24 hours most human activities outside the home stop. But
how much is the reduction and how is this measured?
The
Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) has again measured
emissions during Nyepi and compared them with the daily situation. This year's
Nyepi falls on March 3 2022. From 06:00 to March 4 at 06:00 WITA, residents are
prohibited from leaving the house, at night the lights are turned off (except
for important public facilities), including airport flight activities stop.
During
Nyepi, particulate pollutants in the air are expected to decrease. Therefore,
support from air quality observation data is needed to calculate the percentage
reduction in emissions during Nyepi. Dr Danang Eko Nuryanto, Central BMKG
Researcher said, by obtaining observational data, it is hoped that it can
provide evidence to society and the world regarding efforts to reduce emissions
in Indonesia for climate change.
In
commemoration of the 72nd World Meteorological Day (HMD) with the theme "Early
Warning and Early Action for Reducing the Risk of Hydrometeorological
Disasters", the BMKG Research and Development Center (Puslitbang) carried
out air quality measurements during this year's Nyepi. This activity also
collaborates with the Denpasar Region III MKG Center, BMKG UPT in Bali
Province, West Java Province Environmental Service (DLH), Denpasar City DLH and
the Bali and Nusa Tenggara Ecoregion Development Control Center (P3E) KLHK.
The
measurement locations were chosen to represent urban and suburban areas. Urban
areas are represented by observations at the location of the Bali Denpasar
Regional Hall III office, while suburban areas are represented by equipment
placement in Jembrana and Karangasem Regencies.
embrana
is on the west of the island of Bali, while Karangasem is on the east side.
Meanwhile, Denpasar City is on the south side.
This measurement uses equipment to measure total dust particles
(TS) using HAZ-DUST EPAM-5000 and Met One, while to measure carbon monoxide
(CO) and carbon dioxide (CO2) using Multigas Sensync.
In
general, the measurement results show a significant decrease in the
concentration of dust particulates which varies at each location on Nyepi Day
2022 compared to other days. "Nyepi as a religious ritual has been specifically
proven to be able to make a real contribution to improving air quality,"
explained Danang in an interview on April 9 2022.
When
compared with the results of measurements of dust particulate concentrations by
DLHK Bali for the 2020 – February 2022 data period, the decrease is around
47.07%. This is compared to the daily average for the 2020-2022 period.
According
to him, through field measurements, it has been proven that daily human
activities have a significant influence on the concentration of pollutant gases
and particulates in the air. On Nyepi Day when all human activities are
reduced, air concentration becomes better. This is characterized by a decrease
in the concentration of dust particles (TSP) in the air.
The
decrease in dust particle concentration varies at each observation location,
this is due to the sensitivity of the equipment, the character of each
observation location and the placement of the measuring equipment. Urban areas,
which are full of daily community activities, experience the greatest
improvement in air quality compared to sub-urban areas. Placing the measuring
instrument close to the location of the pollutant source, even if it is in a
sub-urban area, will result in a decrease in the concentration of pollutant
gases as in urban areas.
The
area with the highest carbon monoxide concentration in Bali is Denpasar City,
the capital of Bali Province. For example, this can be seen from the
calculations for the period 28 February – 5 March 2022, Denpasar is higher than
other areas.
However,
this situation can change every day. For example, if you monitor the air
quality index (AQI) forecast on the site iqair.com, then on April 7-10 the
quality in Denpasar is moderate, and on April 10 it is considered good.
According to Danang, recommendations regarding the ecology of this calculation
emphasize the importance of efforts to mitigate global warming and climate
change. Next is measurable proof that human activities increase greenhouse gas
concentrations.
Initial measurement results generally show a significant decrease in the concentration of pollutant gases and dust particulates which varies at each location during Nyepi 2022 compared to normal days.
Ni
Made Puriati, an activist with the Wisnu Foundation who works in the field of
environmental conservation, said that ecological awareness began to appear
during this pandemic. For example, during the ogoh-ogoh parade in the banjar
(the area where they live) there was a change in behavior by cleaning up the
rubbish they produced on the streets. Apart from that, there are also
environmental themes that are brought into the form of ogoh-ogoh, such as the
use of environmentally friendly materials.
According
to him, another step to reduce emissions is to observe (not carry out) online
activities. This year, cellular internet (cellphone-based) is disabled but
optical cable internet via WiFi can still be accessed.
World air quality report:
The 2021 World Air Quality Report released by IQAir found that
only three percent of cities and not a single country met the latest World
Health Organization (WHO) annual PM2.5 air quality guidelines. The report
analyzed PM2.5 air pollution measurements from air monitoring stations in 6,475
cities in 117 countries and territories.
Of
the air quality monitoring stations included in this report, 44 percent are
operated by government agencies, while the remainder are monitoring stations
managed by citizen scientists, nonprofit organizations, and companies. IQAir is a
Swiss-based air quality technology company that empowers individuals,
organizations and communities to breathe clean air through information and
collaboration. Among them is the UN environmental agency, UNEP.
IQAir's 2021 World Air Quality Report is the first major global air
quality report based on the updated annual WHO air quality guidelines for
PM2.5. The new guidelines were released in September 2021 and cut the existing
annual PM2.5 guideline value from 10 g/m 3 to 5 g/m 3 .
Fine
particle pollution, known as PM2.5, is generally accepted as the most dangerous
air pollutant and is widely monitored and has been found to be a major factor
contributing to health effects such as asthma, stroke, heart and lung disease.
PM2.5 causes millions of premature deaths every year.
The
top five most polluted countries in 2021 are Bangladesh, Chad, Pakistan,
Tajikistan and India. New Delhi (India) is the most polluted capital city in
the world for the fourth year in a row followed by Dhaka (Bangladesh),
N'Djamena (Chad), Dushanbe (Tajikistan), and Muscat (Oman).
Air quality in China is considered to continue to improve in 2021.
More than half of the Chinese cities included in the report experienced lower
levels of air pollution compared to the previous year. Pollution levels in the
capital Beijing continued a nine-year trend of improving air quality, driven by
emissions controls and reduced activity at coal-fired power plants and other
high-emitting industries.
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