Air quality in Kampala: the growing silent killer

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

“Our air quality monitoring data, particularly 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 journalists in Kampala on Monday.

“This is approximately eight times higher than the recommended annual average of 5 µg/m3 by the World Health Organization (WHO). This therefore means that our air is becoming more and more polluted and we must take deliberate measures to combat the factors causing this pollution,” he stressed.

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

Air pollution, including fine particulate matter (PM2.5) and ground-level ozone and their precursors, constitutes the main environmental risk to human health, with 99% of people worldwide exposed to levels of pollution atmospheric conditions exceeding WHO guidelines.

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

“The annual number of deaths from malaria is 608,000 people (2022), the annual number of HIV-related deaths is 630,000 (2022), road accidents account for 1.19 million deaths (2022 ), annual combat-related deaths represent 526,000 deaths (2022). COVID-19 has killed 6.9 million people and the world’s focus has completely shifted from economics and politics to COVID-19. Why shouldn’t the world pay attention to air pollution that kills 6.7 million people worldwide? asked Akankwasah.

“It is abundantly clear that air quality-related deaths are rivaled by any other cause of death experienced globally each year, but attention and investment in controlling air pollution remains minimal, if not non-existent.”

In Uganda, compromised air quality increases the burden of disease, with almost 31,600 people dying each year from air pollution-related illnesses, particularly in urban areas.

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

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

Other sources of air pollution are industrial emissions and dust from unsealed roads.

According to WHO, overexposure to pollution usually leads to health problems problems such as dry coughs, chest pain, headaches, nausea and vomiting, as well as skin rashes and irritations of the mucous membranes and cancers.

Other health problems could be those such as ischemic heart disease, in which the heart tissue does not receive enough oxygen and thus suffers damage. This can lead to higher rates of heart attacks, as well as other heart conditions such as angina and arrhythmias.

Because of the small size of fine particles, they have the insidious ability to enter the bloodstream via the lungs and make their way through the tiny air sacs, or alveoli.

Once in the bloodstream, blood vessels can be damaged and materials can find their way to the far reaches of the body, with the liver and kidney systems also at risk of damage (liver and kidneys), as well as the reproductive health is affected.

Those most vulnerable are young children, the elderly, people with pre-existing health conditions, and those with weakened immune systems or hypersensitivity to certain chemicals, leading to serious allergic reactions.

Pregnant mothers are also particularly vulnerable, with overexposure potentially leading to miscarriages, as well as babies born prematurely or with low birth weight.

SOLUTIONS

Akankwasah said the government established national air quality standards and regulations which were released last month to address the crisis.

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

“We now have 1.9 million hectares of forest. We encourage all people living in Uganda to green their compounds, agricultural lands, territorial boundaries, footpaths, road reserves, schools, etc. This way, we will continuously improve our forest cover,” Akankwasah said.

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

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

Industries that emit above permitted standards will need permits and will have to pay for excess emissions.

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 in accordance with the regulations.

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

“Fighting automobile pollution: -We will limit technologies and age of engines in line with new standards, encourage timely maintenance of vehicles and ensure good fuel quality,” Akankwasah said.

He said the government would also encourage 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 , the promotion of solar and wind energy, among others.

The government also intends to continue 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 interventions for Uganda to effectively tackle the growing problem air pollution.