Africa is experiencing some of the worst air pollution in the world and air quality has deteriorating rapidly over the past 50 years1 (Fig. 1). PM2.5 (particulate matter ≤ 2.5 μm in diameter) concentrations in many African cities are now 5 to 10 times greater than the level recommended by the World Health Organization2. With growing populations, rapid urbanization and industrialization, air pollution over the continent is likely to worsen with detrimental health implications. However, too little attention has been paid to Africa’s air pollution: less than 0.01% of global air pollution funding is currently spent in Africa2. Pollution sources and patterns show that air pollution in Africa is a global issue, and we argue that tackling the issue requires collective efforts from African countries, regionally tailored solutions and equitable global collaborations.

Fig. 1: Analysis of historical air pollution in East Africa.
figure 1

Using visibility as a proxy for particulate matter air pollution, Singh et al.1 have shown rapid increases in air pollution in the capital cities of Nairobi, Kampala and Addis Ababa between the 1970s and 2010s.

Full size image

Patterns, sources and drivers of air pollution in Africa

Africa is a large continent — second in size only to Asia, and currently containing 54 countries and two disputed territories. Owing to distinctly different socioeconomic conditions among countries and cities, air pollution across Africa varies greatly and has distinct regional pollution patterns and sources. For example, crude oil exploitation in Nigeria induces black carbon emissions and particulate matter pollution3. Coal mining and power generation results in high emissions of greenhouse gases and nitrogen dioxide in South Africa4.

Biomass burning induces high ozone concentrations over central Africa5 and is also an important source of air pollution across Africa more generally. Without access to clean energy, nearly 970 million people on the continent rely on biomass burning for cooking, heating and lighting, which results in severe indoor air pollution6 and contributes greatly to outdoor air pollution. The open burning of waste is also widespread in Africa and contributes to ambient air pollution across the continent.

Vehicles are another pollution source across Africa. Currently, urban transport systems are struggling to meet increasing demand. This has led to the rising imports of preowned, old and reconditioned vehicles with low emission standards from Europe, North America and Asia. These vehicles emit much larger amounts of pollutants than those meeting high standards and thus — unless restrictions are put in place to regulate these imported vehicles — increased emissions of pollutants are expected. Currently, very few measures have been implemented across Africa to address pollution from motorized transport7.

Africa’s population is projected to nearly double to 2.5 billion by 2050 (ref. 8) and with this will come increases in energy demand, waste generation and transport vehicles — all of which are sources of air pollution. Africa has also been experiencing rapid urbanization, industrialization and motorization. In fact, for some Africa regions, air quality has been declining rapidly since 1970 or earlier.

Inadequate attention to Africa’s air pollution may be an obstacle to achieving global climate targets. Combustion sources that emit large amounts of air pollutants also generate CO2 and other climate pollutants simultaneously. Although Africa’s current per capita CO2 emissions are only approximately one fifth of the global average9, carbon emissions in Africa will probably increase markedly without controlling measures. Thus, worsening air pollution in Africa is not only an issue for Africa.

Actions needed

Numerous efforts have been made across African countries to tackle air pollution. For example, ten major African cities signed the C40 Clean Air Declaration10 to improve public health and mitigate climate change. Initiatives based on the emerging lower-capital-cost sensing approach are beginning to provide much-needed data for air pollution control11 (Fig. 2). Overall, there has been increasing political will and civil society engagement in addressing air pollution over the past decade.

Fig. 2: Air pollution network of particulate matter using the AirQo low-cost sensor.
figure 2

Shown for Africa (left), Uganda (middle) and Kampala (right) within Uganda. The AirQo network15 exemplifies an African-led solution to the measurement data gap across Africa. The AirQo network started in Kampala, Uganda and is now deployed across eight African countries.

Full size image

However, current efforts are not enough. Not only air quality measurements, but also resources for data interpretation, are required. Additionally, regulation of air pollution emission standards remains inadequate and coordination between public agencies is poor.

As many regions across the globe have made progress with air pollution control, Africa can leverage existing knowledge, technology and strategies for effective capacity building via international collaboration. However, in any collaboration, it is important to ensure Africa’s leadership to make sure that local context is sufficiently considered. Regionally specific and multifaceted approaches are key to tackling different patterns of air pollution across Africa. We propose five target areas for actions.

Continuous air monitoring

Wider installation of continuous air-quality monitoring networks is required to measure pollution levels and understand spatial and temporal variations of different pollutants. Such monitoring is useful for identifying pollution sources12, evaluating their health effects and setting an important baseline for assessing effectiveness of air-pollution control policies. This will require more than investment in air monitoring infrastructure, but also enhancement of the capacity of local researchers to interpret and act upon the air quality data.

Investment in clean energy

Africa’s energy demand is expected to nearly double by 2040 (ref. 13). A rapid transition to clean energy (such as solar, hydropower and wind), while shifting away from dirtier energy sources, will be needed to improve air quality in Africa. It is important in such a transition to diversify renewable sources to make sure that Africa will not revert to fossil-fuel-based economies should any of the renewable sources does not work owing to unfavourable environmental conditions.

Improved solid waste management

Reductions in open waste dumping and burning will have substantial benefits for air quality, climate and health. This can be achieved by appropriate incentives to promote waste reuse, recycling and recovery. For example, the Takanimali organization in Kenya is helping to minimize waste through reuse and recovery, and providing repair services to 100,000 homes, preventing thousands of tonnes of waste from being openly dumped and burned. Development and investment in cleaner technologies to reduce waste generation is also required, as is better science communication to raise public awareness.

Investment in environmentally friendly technologies

Africa’s economic growth should not be at the expense of the environment. Industries should be incentivized to avoid obsolete technologies from the Global North. Governments need to set standards to regulate imported technologies and only promote clean and environmentally friendly ones, including by offering tax waivers if the initial cost is prohibitive.

Infrastructure improvements

To meet the increasing mobility demand and curb the pollution from transportation sector, Africa needs to improve public transportation and adopt a higher emission standard for both fuels and imported vehicles14. Infrastructure for nonmotorized transport, such as walking and cycling, needs improving, as does that for electric vehicles to promote and facilitate the transition to electric mobility.

There is no ‘one size fits all’ solution to Africa’s air quality problems, owing to distinct regional pollution patterns and sources. However, here we highlight five broad actions that will lead to reductions in air pollution.