By Henry Owino
Nairobi, Kenya: Air quality across the globe continues to deteriorate due to increasing emissions, threatening human health and contributing to climate change, biodiversity loss, and pollution and waste.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), 99 percent of the global population breathes unclean air, and air pollution causes 7 million premature deaths a year. Particulate matter which refers to PM2.5 with a diameter equal to or less than 2.5 micrometers, poses the greatest health threat and is often used as a metric in legal air quality standards.
When inhaled, PM2.5 is absorbed deep into the bloodstream and linked to illnesses such as stroke, heart disease, lung disease, and cancer. To address this air pollution crisis, experts warn that governments must take urgent action to strengthen air quality regulation, including monitoring capacity to track PM2.5 and other pollutants.
Africa is not spared either despite being responsible for the least emission globally. A report released in just concluded UNEA-6 meeting held at UNEP headquarters in Nairobi, Kenya, indicates that most countries in Africa are fond of importing already used heavy-duty vehicles (HDV) which rely on fossil fuels as the main source of energy.
Source
According to Rob de Jong, Head of the Sustainable Mobility Unit at UNEP, most of the automobiles are usually imported from developed countries known for high rates of emissions globally thereby ‘discarded’ and exported to Africa at lower cost. Surprisingly, the number of HDVs is rapidly increasing worldwide yet they are the main cause of problems with poor air quality.
The report indicates that such HDVs are responsible for 40 percent of the environmental pollution of on-road nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions, especially in cities and major towns. This calls for an urgent need to put regulations and measures in place in the respective countries to avert such importation.
The UNEA-6 report was collaboratively launched by UNEP and the Climate and Clean Air Coalition (CCAC) as the first global overview of used HDVs and their contribution to global air pollution, road accidents, fuel consumption, and climate emissions.
In Kenya, such HDVs mostly buses and trucks are generally used locally for commuters’ transportation and merchandise. Some emissions are easily visible by the naked eye from exhaust pipes as vehicles burn fossil fuels while others are invisible.
Expertise
Dr Paul Njogu, who currently works at the Institute of Energy and Environmental Technology, Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology (JKUAT) says cars, trucks, and buses powered by fossil fuels are major contributors to air pollution.
“Vehicle pollutants harm our health and contain greenhouse gases that cause climate change. Burning gasoline and diesel fuel creates harmful byproducts like black carbon, nitrogen dioxide, carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, hydrocarbons, benzene, and formaldehyde which are linked to different types of cancer. In addition, vehicles emit carbon dioxide, the most common human-caused greenhouse gas,” Dr Njogu cautioned.
Dr. Njogu explains black carbon (BC) is a component of fine particulate matter (PM 2.5) air pollution, the leading environmental cause of poor health and premature deaths. Black carbon, like all particles in the atmosphere, also affects the reflectivity, stability, and duration of clouds and alters precipitation.
The BC consists of pure carbon in several linked forms, and it has recently emerged as a major contributor to global climate change, possibly second only to CO2 as the main driver of change.
“Black carbon is produced by incomplete combustion of biomass by wildfires and burning of fossil fuels. BC is environmentally persistent for centuries to millennia in the environment. Dr Njogu explains.
Trends
Maurice Kavai, Deputy Director of Air Quality and Climate Change at the Nairobi City County Government, revealed that the transport sector has the highest emission rates at 45 percent. He further cautioned that this is likely to surge as the number of two and three-wheeler automobiles is outnumbering the normal vehicles.
“Two and three-wheelers are the fastest growing transport mode in many low and middle-income countries. In Nairobi, they have become convenient to use and arrive at a destination on time by wading through traffic jams,” Kavai affirms.
So, Nairobi residents are not safe either as invisible pollutants are currently more common compared to the previous two years hence at high risk of suffering and dying from respiratory-related illness. This is also because of rapid population growth in Nairobi contributing to the continued wane of the present air quality.
“Nairobi has a population of 6 million during the day and 5 million during the night all inhaling the toxic air. Again, there are unroadworthy matatus which only operate at night and emit pollutants harmful to our health and contain greenhouse gases that cause climate change,” Kavai regrets.
According to UNEP, in Nairobi, the pollution levels are approximately 70 percent which frighteningly has already triggered almost 260 deaths between January and February 2024. This excludes the cost families and governments incur in terms of healthcare costs and related expenses.
However, as much as the transport sector accounts for 45 percent of air pollution, poor waste management is responsible for 33 percent and stationary energy 22 percent of emissions. Therefore, poor air quality in Nairobi is being attributed to emissions from; automobiles, at dumpsites such as Dandora, and industrial discharges, among others.
Health effects
Air pollution also increases the risk of respiratory infections, heart disease, stroke, and lung cancer, and more severely affects people who are already ill. People’s health risks from air pollution vary widely depending on age, gender, location, underlying health conditions, and other factors.
For example, women of reproductive age living in Dandora are more likely to suffer from endometriosis compared to Karen estate. While elderly men with chronic diseases or conditions such as; Arthritis, Cancer, and Asthma, may experience severe health impacts from polluted air.
The WHO estimates that 19,000 people die each year in Kenya due to air pollution. To combat this, the Nairobi County government says that they are working to implement the Nairobi Air Quality Act, which will establish a framework for air quality control within the city.
Lately, there have been reports of newly identified cases of diseases and conditions due to increased detrimental consequences of poor air quality. These statistics suggest that unless imperative interventions are made, the majority of Kenyans living in Nairobi will continue to be exposed to poor air quality at the expense of their health.
Consequently, the Nairobi City County Government is taking essential steps which are meant to reduce the pace of air pollution in order to deter; environmental, health, and socio-economic challenges. For much more information on interventions and solutions being done including multimodal transportation, do not miss to read the next publication coming up soon with the same scribe.
