Yakarta air pollution may cast a shadow over sports tourism

22-08-23

As Greater Jakarta struggles to curb its perennial air pollution, the Tourism and Creative Economy Ministry has called for a swift solution to combat the risk that upcoming sports events in the capital will face a slump in interest, particularly as the FIBA Basketball World Cup draws near.

Over the past few weeks, residents of the capital and its satellite cities have bemoaned the worsening air quality, as Jakarta, notorious for its traffic congestion and overly packed neighborhoods, has topped Swiss company IQAir’s ranking of the world’s most polluted major cities for almost a week since Aug. 7.