Air quality in Kampala: the growing silent killer

The Executive Director of the National Environmental Management Authority (NEMA), Dr. Barirega Akankwasah, has expressed concern over the deteriorating air quality in Kampala.

“Our air quality monitoring data, especially around Kampala, indicates an increase in air pollution from an annual average of 39.5 µg/m3 in 2019 to 41 µg/m3 in 2024,” Akankwasah told the journalists in Kampala on Monday.

“This is approximately eight times higher than the annual average recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO) of 5 µg/m3. Therefore, this means that our air is increasingly polluted and we must take deliberate measures to address the factors that cause pollution,” he emphasized.

As pollution worsens, the health and well-being of Kampala residents are increasingly at risk, requiring urgent measures to curb emissions and mitigate environmental degradation.

Air pollution, including fine particulate matter (PM2.5) and ground-level ozone and its precursors, is the leading environmental risk to human health, with 99% of people worldwide exposed to high levels of pollution. of air that exceed WHO guidelines.

According to data from the World Health Organization, air pollution is associated with 6.7 million premature deaths per year.

“The annual death from malaria amounts to 608,000 people (2022), the annual death from HIV is 630,000 (2022), traffic accidents account for 1.19 million deaths (2022), annual battle-related deaths account for 526,000 deaths (2022). COVID-19 killed 6.9 million people and the world’s attention shifted completely from economics and politics to COVID-19. Why shouldn’t the world pay attention to the air pollution that is killing 6.7 million people worldwide? Akankwasah wondered.

“It is quite clear that air quality-related deaths are unrivaled by any other known cause of death each year on a global scale, yet attention and investment in air pollution control remains minimal, if perhaps”.

In Uganda, poor air quality increases the burden of disease: about 31,600 people die annually from air pollution-related diseases, especially in urban areas.

Factors such as vehicle emissions, industrial activities and urban development contribute to this worrying phenomenon.

Transportation is the main cause of air pollution in Kampala, followed by domestic and biomass burning.

Other sources of air pollution include industrial emissions and dust from unpaved roads.

According to the WHO, overexposure to pollution often harms health problems such as dry cough, chest pains, headaches, nausea and vomiting, as well as outbreaks of skin rashes and mucosal irritation and cancer.

Other health problems include ischemic heart disease, in which the heart tissue does not receive enough oxygen and is damaged as a result. This can lead to higher rates of heart attacks, as well as other heart conditions such as angina and arrhythmias.

Due to the small size of fine particles, they have the insidious ability to enter the bloodstream through the lungs, arriving through the tiny air sacs or alveoli.

Once in the bloodstream, damage to blood vessels can occur, as well as the material reaching the confines of the body, and the liver and kidney systems are also at risk of damage (liver and kidneys), as well as reproductive health. is affected.

The most vulnerable people are young children, the elderly, those with pre-existing health problems, as well as those who have compromised immune systems or hypersensitivity to certain chemicals, resulting in severe allergic reactions.

Pregnant mothers are also particularly vulnerable, as overexposure can lead to cases of miscarriage, as well as babies born prematurely or with low birth weight.

SOLUTIONS

Akankwasah said the government has set national standards and regulations for air quality that were released last month to address the crisis.

Others include tree planting, which NEMA says has increased national forest cover from 9.5% to the current 13.3%.

“Now we have 1.9 million hectares of forest. We encourage all people living in Uganda to green their compounds, farmlands, land boundaries, roads, road reserves, school grounds etc. In this way, we will continuously improve our forest cover,” Akankwasah said.

All industries will be required to install scrubbers, electrostatic precipitators and fabric filters to reduce industrial emissions.

Industries will also be required to install automated air quality monitors that automatically transmit data to the central database.

Industries that emit above permitted standards will require permits and must pay for excess emissions.

In this way, industries that use green technologies will save money and those that use old technologies will have to be penalized. After the grace period, certain technologies will be declared prohibited according to the regulations.

Other interventions include proper waste management from collection and disposal; avoiding open burning of waste and paving roads, to reduce suspended particles from dusty roads.

“Tackling vehicle pollution: We will restrict engine technologies and aging in line with the new standards, encourage timely maintenance of vehicles and ensure good fuel quality,” Akankwasah said.

He said the government will also promote cleaner energy for households, including the use of improved stoves, popularizing the use of gas instead of firewood, low tariffs for cooking and industrial electricity, and promotion of solar and wind energy, among others. .

The government also intends to continue conducting research and development in renewable energy, air quality monitoring technologies, and cleaner production technologies.

NEMA called on all citizens and people living in Uganda, government ministries, departments and agencies, the private sector and the civil society fraternity to adopt the above-mentioned interventions for Uganda to effectively address the growing problem of the air pollution.