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Non-smokers in Kampala inhale two cigarettes daily
Traffic on Namirembe Road in Kampala on August 3, 2021. The main sources of air pollution in the capital and the country include dust from unpaved roads, exhaust emissions from vehicles, among others. PHOTO/MICHAEL KAKUMIRIZI
What you need to know:
- According to a February study by HouseFresh, a British company that interests itself in air quality issues, Kampala is the third most polluted city in Africa.
Kampala City dwellers inhale an equivalent of 712 cigarettes a year due to polluted air, a global report by air quality experts indicates.
The study published in February by HouseFresh, a British company that interests itself in air quality issues, ranks Kampala as the third most polluted city in Africa. Globally, the Ugandan capital places eighth.
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The most polluted city in Africa is N’Djamena in Chad at an equivalence of 909 cigarettes per year, followed by Bamako in Mali, ranking second at 764, the researchers said. This contrasts with the cleanest cities in the world such as Bern in Switzerland, where dwellers indirectly smoke 11 cigarettes per year, Riga in Latvia at 21, Brasilia in Brazil at 28 and Nairobi at 55 cigarettes equivalence.
To ensure the accuracy of the data, the HouseFresh team said they collected information from aqicn.org’s dataset, an international network of air monitoring machines. The network collects daily median air pollutant levels based on various air quality stations in each city, Kampala inclusive.
In addition, the team said they only included data from the most central air quality station available and discarded any cities where the closest air quality station was outside the city or metropolitan area. Furthermore, any stations with irregular registries for 2022 were removed from the study.
The team then calculated the average daily median Air Quality Index (AQI). To pull this off, fine particulate matter (PM) of size 2.5 microns (PM2.5) was considered as the average (AQI PM2.5) in each city. Berkeley Earth’s rule-of-thumb was then used to convert that value to the number of cigarettes a person would indirectly smoke due to poor air quality. The final result was then multiplied by 365 to estimate the total number of cigarettes smoked in a year.
As per the United States Environmental Protection Agency, the term particulate matter (PM) refers to a combination of solid particles and liquid droplets present in the air. Certain particles such as dust, dirt, soot, or smoke are not large or dark enough to be visible to the naked eye. This PM encompasses three primary groupings: coarse particles (PM10), fine particles (PM2.5), and ultrafine particles (PM0.1). These various particle sizes typically differ in their origins and the resulting health impacts they can have.
Africa’s most polluted cities
Based on their results, N’Djamena takes third position globally. Bamako holds seventh, closely followed by Kampala. Other African cities performing abjectly are Khartoum (Sudan), whose 11th placement translates to 616 cigarettes per year; Abuja (Nigeria) whose 14th position is equivalent to 574 cigarettes, and Addis Ababa (Ethiopia) that comes in 20th (438 cigarettes).
Globally, air pollution accounts for an estimated 4.2 million deaths per year due to stroke, heart disease, lung cancer, acute and chronic respiratory diseases, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO). The clear breakdown for Uganda couldn’t be found by these reporters by press time.
Commenting on air pollution, Mr Erias Lukwago—the Lord Mayor of Kampala City—said records from Kampala Capital City Authority’s (KCCA) public health department indicate that air pollution in the city is five times higher than the WHO tolerable limit of 25 microgram per cubic metres.
The main sources of air pollution in Uganda’s capital and indeed the country at large include dust from unpaved roads; domestic solid biomass energy use; exhaust and non-exhaust emissions from vehicles; industrial emissions; and open burning of solid waste. This is according to the National Environment Management Authority (Nema).
Kampala interventions
Mr Lukwago said among other interventions to curb air pollution, he intends to establish a five-acre forest in the Kampala metropolitan area before he leaves his leadership position. He reasoned the trees will be essential in absorbing pollutants from the air, thereby cleansing the air.
“We have installed air quality monitoring systems in Kampala,” he revealed, adding, “From what we have gathered, air quality is five times worse than what WHO recommends and that is worrying.”
The Lord Mayor believes there is a need for collective action from researchers, politicians and the people to tame air pollution in the city. Mr Lukwago also told Saturday Monitor that he is worried about the fast rises in the population in the city. These, he added, have exerted more pressure on the environment.
“We have a framework for air quality management and relevant guiding documents. We have a climate change action plan with a specific target to reduce emissions by 22 percent by 2030,” he said.
KCCA this month joined 14 cities on the continent in a new initiative to curb the rising deaths and illnesses caused by air pollution. The initiative dubbed Clean Air Africa Network brings together leaders and researchers from the cities to advance knowledge and skills for an effective fight against air pollution.
The initiative is being coordinated by the AirQo Project of Makerere University, which is manufacturing low-cost air quality monitoring machines used across the continent. The cities include Accra in Ghana; Kisumu and Kitusuru in Kenya; Abuja in Nigeria; Addis Ababa in Ethiopia; Cairo in Egypt; and Dakar in Senegal.
Speaking at the launch of the initiative in Kampala, Prof Engineer Bainomugisha—the AirQo project coordinator—said the clean air network will serve as an air quality hub. It will, he added, champion clean air in Africa’s urban environments.
“Through these hubs, we hope to increase the understanding of low-cost air quality monitors and digital solutions and how they can be used as new approaches to air quality management in the African context,” Prof Bainomugisha said.
He added: “Ultimately, we want to increase awareness of air quality issues for better health outcomes in Africa.
The cities will also come together to formulate a Clean Air Plan for African Cities that will guide the cities and researchers pathway to air quality management.”
