Breathing in Maluku is Injurious to Health.

Air pollution threatens the health of 1.6 million people across 11 districts in Maluku. The average PM2.5 level is 8.5 µg/m³—1.7Ɨ higher than the WHO guideline.

Brought to you by Amrit Sharma

Air Pollution in Maluku

Maluku faces significant air pollution challenges. 91% of districts exceed the WHO guideline for clean air. This is putting 1.6 million across 11 districts at risk.

The average PM2.5 over 2023 was 8.5µg/m³. That's 1.7 times the WHO guideline for clean air of 5µg/m³.

This is equivalent of everybody, including children, smoking about 141 cigarettes in a year.

Air Quality Trend

Annual PM2.5 levels from 2014 to 2023. The WHO guideline for safe air is 5 µg/m³.

Life Expectancy Impact

If Maluku met the WHO guideline of 5 µg/m³, the average person would live 0.35 years longer.

That's 548K years of life stolen from 1.6 million people. Years of watching children grow up. Years of building a career. Years of quiet mornings and celebrations.

Lives cut short. Breathing kills.

Districts with Highest Pollution

The top 10 most polluted districts in Maluku. These areas face the greatest health burden from air pollution.

  • 1.Buru
    0.5 years lost
  • 2.Buru Selatan
    0.5 years lost
  • 3.Seram Bagian Barat
    0.5 years lost
  • 4.Maluku Tengah
    0.5 years lost
  • 5.Seram Bagian Timur
    0.4 years lost
  • 6.Ambon
    0.3 years lost
  • 7.Kepulauan Aru
    0.2 years lost
  • 8.Maluku Barat Daya
    0.2 years lost
  • 9.Maluku Tenggara
    0.1 years lost
  • 10.Tual
    0.1 years lost

Population Exposure by Pollution Level

Distribution of population across different PM2.5 pollution levels. The WHO guideline is 5 µg/m³—only populations below this threshold are breathing safe air.

< 5 µg/m³
5.9%
93K
5-10 µg/m³
85.9%
1.3M
10-15 µg/m³
8.2%
129K
15-25 µg/m³
0%
0
25-35 µg/m³
0%
0
> 35 µg/m³
0%
0

All 11 Districts in Maluku

Complete air quality data for every district in Maluku, sorted by population.

DistrictPopulationPM2.5 µg/m³Years Lost
Maluku Tengah358K
9.6
0.5 years
Ambon323K
8.4
0.3 years
Seram Bagian Barat177K
9.6
0.5 years
Buru129K
10.1
0.5 years
Seram Bagian Timur114K
8.7
0.4 years
Maluku Tenggara Barat93K
5.0
0.0 years
Maluku Tenggara92K
6.5
0.1 years
Kepulauan Aru82K
7.5
0.2 years
Tual71K
6.4
0.1 years
Maluku Barat Daya67K
6.6
0.2 years
Buru Selatan61K
9.7
0.5 years

Showing 11 districts, sorted by population (largest first). PM2.5 values are for 2023. Years lost calculated against WHO guideline of 5 µg/m³.