Characterization of Ambient Air Quality in Selected Urban Areas in Uganda : A Low-Cost Approach
Many cities and urban centers around the world experience high air pollution episodes attributable to increased anthropogenic alterations of natural environmental systems. World Health Organization estimates indicate strong exceedances of prescribe...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Format: | Working Paper |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
World Bank, Washington, DC
2021
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/154911611166427828/Characterization-of-Ambient-Air-Quality-in-Selected-Urban-Areas-in-Uganda-A-Low-Cost-Approach http://hdl.handle.net/10986/35035 |
| Summary: | Many cities and urban centers around the
world experience high air pollution episodes attributable to
increased anthropogenic alterations of natural environmental
systems. World Health Organization estimates indicate strong
exceedances of prescribed limits in developing countries.
However, the evidence on local pollution measures is limited
for such cities and Uganda is no exception. Informed by the
practical realities of air quality monitoring, this paper
employs a low-cost approach using passive and active
monitors to obtain characterization of pollution levels
based on particulate matter 2.5, nitrogen dioxide, and ozone
over a six-month period (starting in December 2018) for
selected urban centers in three of the four macro-regions in
Uganda. This is the first attempt to comprehensively assess
pollution levels at a near-national level in Uganda. A
combination of distributed stationary monitors and mobile
monitors installed on motorcycle taxis (boda-boda) was
employed in selected parishes to obtain spatiotemporal
variations in the pollutant concentrations. The results
suggest that seasonal particulate levels heavily depend on
precipitation patterns with a strong inverse relation, which
further corroborates the need for longer monitoring periods
to reflect actual seasonal variations. Informed by the
observed level of data completeness and quality in all the
monitoring scenarios, the paper highlights the
practicability and potential of a low-cost approach to air
quality monitoring and the potential to use this information
to inform citizens. |
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