Analysis of atmospheric haze in an urban area

Haze is a natural meteorological phenomenon and happens when a large number of dried particles float and spread in the sky. The process occurs because of the law of advection, when wet air masses meet up with dry air masses they form an inversion layer of compressed the air, that looks like fog but is not actually a fog, because the air contains aerosol particles such as dust or smoke. This haze phenomenon is usually found in an urban city due to the impact of greenhouse-gases emissions from motor vehicles and industrial pollutants. The purpose of study was to find out the condition of the air pollution in Jakarta, a biggest urban city, by looking at the amount of haze events that have occurred. Using surface air observation data processing and data layers of the upper air, the frequency of haze events in 2016 were calculated. The minimum air temperature data was the main parameter used and all statistics were performed using Microsoft Excel. In addition, to find the height of the atmospheric inversion layer formed, we used data concerning the upper air layer and processed with RAOB (Rawinsonde Observation Program). Taken together, the amount of haze in Jakarta was found to be equivalent to the increasing number of pollutants in the city.