{"id":4375,"date":"2021-02-15T19:16:53","date_gmt":"2021-02-15T19:16:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/?p=4375"},"modified":"2021-02-15T16:16:05","modified_gmt":"2021-02-15T16:16:05","slug":"alarm-as-air-pollution-levels-exceed-who-limit","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/all-news\/alarm-as-air-pollution-levels-exceed-who-limit","title":{"rendered":"Alarm as air pollution \u00a0 \u00a0levels exceed WHO limit"},"content":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press<\/a> – Uganda<\/a>. <\/strong><\/span>Emerging evidence has linked the smoggy skylines being observed in several towns and cities across the country to high levels of pollution.<\/p>\n

The display that started last week has triggered health anxiety among residents.<\/p>\n

The fear about the hazy skylines was worsened by the Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA) announcement last Monday that they detected pollution several times higher than the World Health Organisation (WHO) normal range of 25 microgram per cubic meters.<\/p>\n

\u201cResults from our 23 air quality monitors across the city in the last 28 days indicate that average particulate matter (PM 2.5) is at 75 micrograms per cubic meter, [which] is 3 times higher than the World Health Organisation (WHO) cut off,\u201d the KCCA said in a tweet on February 7.<\/p>\n

Particulate matter (PM) is the sum of all solid and liquid particles suspended in air many of which are hazardous to human health. PM2.5 are the fine inhalable particles.<\/p>\n

AirQo, a Makerere University project that collects and analyses air quality data using cloud-based technologies, confirmed that their analytics for Kampala area indicate that PM2.5 levels have been largely within \u2018unhealthy and very unhealthy\u2019 zones of the Air Quality Index (AQI).<\/p>\n

\u201cBy 7am on Tuesday, air quality levels varied from 60-200 microgram per cubic meters and had reached 300 microgram per cubic meters in some areas. These levels fluctuate during the course of the day,\u201d AirQo said in a tweet.<\/p>\n

This means some residents were exposed to pollution levels more than five times the WHO normal range.<\/p>\n

During the lockdown last year, AirQo reported that air quality had improved by 40 per cent. In an interview yesterday, Mr Deo Okure, the air quality scientist at AirQo, said the pollution is due to changes in the season and human activities.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have been closely monitoring the air quality (in Kampala) for the last couple of days. From Thursday last week, the skylines had been smoggy. We compared with what is happening in other cities across the world and it looks like it is a localised problem [only in Kampala],\u201d Mr Okure said.<\/p>\n

According to experts, although this period is supposed to be a dry season, it has rather been raining in January.<\/p>\n

\u201cCalm weather situation such as less wind tends to trap pollution closer to the ground because it cannot be dispersed. It is such pollution closer to the ground that affects people and it is what the machines detect. When there is high humidity, it causes the [dust] particles to swell. But if the air is very dry, it is easier for dusts to form,\u201d Mr Okure explained.<\/p>\n

Dr William Worodria, an expert in respiratory diseases at Makerere University Lung Institute, said the biggest drivers of pollution in the country are emissions from industries, motorised transport and cooking using biomass or wood fuel. \u201cIf we had cheaper electricity, people would use less biomass. Some of the pollutants are silica from roads, so if they can tarmac the roads, it will reduce on the level of those pollutants,\u201d Dr Worodria said.<\/p>\n

KCCA said last Monday their \u201cteam is working on source apportionment and emission inventories to ascertain the contribution of each sector and how to deal with it.\u201d Dr Daniel Okello, the head of Public Health and Environment at the KCCA, could not be reached for details by press time.<\/p>\n

However, Mr Tony Achidria, the senior public relations officer at the National Environment Management Authority (Nema), said they are increasing efforts to curb pollution in the country.<\/p>\n

\u201cMuch of the pollution is caused by old vehicles, those which are not serviced well and boda bodas. You realise that the air quality was much better during the lockdown when boda bodas and vehicles were not allowed to move compared to when they were operating,\u201d Mr Achidria said.<\/p>\n

\u201cAlso, there is an assumption that pollution of the air is caused by emissions from industries. But our findings have indicated that the industries are well regulated and their emissions are very low,\u201d he said. Daily Monitor couldn\u2019t independently verify this.According to Mr Achidria, the industries are monitored regularly and they are parameters that they have to follow in terms of what they can emit.<\/p>\n

He said the agency has also put in place a law that bars importation of vehicles older than five years.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Uganda. Emerging evidence has linked the smoggy skylines being observed in several towns and cities across the country to high levels of pollution. The display that started last week has triggered health anxiety among residents. The fear about the hazy skylines was worsened by the Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA) announcement last Monday […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":4374,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,3,8],"tags":[233,240,234],"class_list":["post-4375","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-community","category-homepage-english","tag-africa-press","tag-africa-press-uganda","tag-uganda"],"yoast_head":"\nAlarm as air pollution \u00a0 \u00a0levels exceed WHO limit - Uganda<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Emerging evidence has linked the smoggy skylines being observed in several towns and cities across the country to high l ...\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/all-news\/alarm-as-air-pollution-levels-exceed-who-limit\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Alarm as air pollution \u00a0 \u00a0levels exceed WHO limit\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Emerging evidence has linked the smoggy skylines being observed in several towns and cities across the country to high l ...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/all-news\/alarm-as-air-pollution-levels-exceed-who-limit\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Uganda\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/AfricaPressTunisiaa\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2021-02-15T19:16:53+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/uganda\/sites\/34\/2021\/02\/img-602a9e3024888.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"720\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"480\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/all-news\/alarm-as-air-pollution-levels-exceed-who-limit#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/all-news\/alarm-as-air-pollution-levels-exceed-who-limit\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"cfeditoren\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"headline\":\"Alarm as air pollution \u00a0 \u00a0levels exceed WHO limit\",\"datePublished\":\"2021-02-15T19:16:53+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/all-news\/alarm-as-air-pollution-levels-exceed-who-limit\"},\"wordCount\":717,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/all-news\/alarm-as-air-pollution-levels-exceed-who-limit#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/uganda\/sites\/34\/2021\/02\/img-602a9e3024888.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Africa Press\",\"Africa Press-Uganda\",\"uganda\"],\"articleSection\":[\"all news\",\"community\",\"homepage-english\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/all-news\/alarm-as-air-pollution-levels-exceed-who-limit#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/all-news\/alarm-as-air-pollution-levels-exceed-who-limit\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/all-news\/alarm-as-air-pollution-levels-exceed-who-limit\",\"name\":\"Alarm as air pollution \u00a0 \u00a0levels exceed WHO limit - 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