Named the most polluted city in the world, and the country’s president coughs terribly

Jakarta named the most polluted city in the world

Indonesia’s capital Jakarta is the world’s most polluted city, according to a new study, and the country’s president’s cough could be further evidence of this. writes CNN.

The government confirmed that President Joko Widodo had been battling a cough for several weeks and suggested it could be due to worsening air pollution in the city of 10 million people.

The news comes just days after Swiss company IQAir released data showing air quality in Jakarta has worsened in recent weeks to become the worst in the world.

“President Joko Widodo has asked for concrete steps (to combat air pollution) within one week. He coughed for almost four weeks and said he had never felt so bad,” Indonesian Tourism and Creative Economy Minister Sandiaga Uno told reporters after a parliamentary ministerial meeting in Jakarta on Monday.

Uno said doctors are still diagnosing the cause of Widodo’s cough, but added that it could be due to deteriorating air quality.

The next day, Health Minister Budi Gunadi Sadykin also noted that the president was battling coughs and said his ministry would step up testing of the general population to see if lung and respiratory diseases, such as asthma, had increased in heavily polluted areas.

“We are monitoring the situation,” Budi told reporters.

“All reports on the impact of air pollution on public health will be coordinated with the relevant ministries and official departments for evaluation,” he added.