African cities that experience high pollution levels often have a less productive workforce due to respiratory illnesses and weakened immune systems caused by prolonged exposure to polluted air.
This increasing health-related work absences, and harming key economic sectors like agriculture and industry.
African cities, including Dakar (Senegal), Accra (Ghana), and Kampala (Uganda), topped the pollution rankings.
Dakar’s air quality faces deterioration due to Saharan dust from the harmattan and rising vehicle and industrial emissions.
In Ghana, pollution is driven by wood and charcoal cooking, transportation, slash-and-burn farming, waste burning, energy production, fires, and industry. A report also reveals that Kampala residents inhale pollution equivalent to smoking 712 cigarettes per year.
The World Health Organization (WHO) reports that 2.4 billion people face hazardous household air pollution from polluting fuels like kerosene, biomass, and coal.
Combined with ambient pollution, this contributes to 7 million premature deaths annually, underscoring the need for cleaner energy and stronger pollution controls.
Poor air quality—resulting from vehicle emissions, industrial pollution, and biomass burning—causes respiratory diseases, cardiovascular issues, and other health problems, forcing many workers to take sick leave or reducing their ability to work at full capacity.
As pollution levels increase, the associated health risks become more severe, particularly for vulnerable individuals and those with pre-existing health conditions.
This not only weakens economic performance but also places a heavy strain on healthcare systems.
The IQAir pollution index
The IQAir Live report across major cities tracks air quality across approximately 120 major cities worldwide, ranking them by AQI (Air Quality Index).
The AQI measures how clean or polluted the air is and highlights short-term health risks from exposure. Each city’s AQI represents the median value from all monitoring stations at a given time.
The ranking updates at least once per hour to reflect changing air quality conditions globally.
According to the live report tracking air quality in various cities, the index categorizes air pollution levels as follows: values between 0-50 indicate good air quality, 51-100 represent moderate air pollution.
101-150 signify unhealthy air for sensitive groups, 151-200 indicate unhealthy air for the general population, 201-300 reflect very unhealthy conditions, and values 301 and above represent hazardous pollution levels.
According to the IQAir live tracking, the following African countries had the most polluted air as of February 2025.
| S/N | City | AQI |
|---|---|---|
|
1 |
Dakar, Senegal |
180 |
|
2 |
Accra, Ghana |
117 |
|
3 |
Kampala, Uganda |
77 |
|
4 |
Cairo, Egypt |
66 |
|
5 |
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia |
52 |
Among the monitored cities, Dakar, Senegal, recorded the highest AQI at 180, categorizing it as unhealthy and posing risks to vulnerable groups.
Accra, Ghana, followed with 117, indicating unhealthy air for sensitive individuals, likely due to traffic, industrial emissions, and waste burning.
Kampala, Uganda, had a moderate AQI of 77, while Cairo, Egypt (66), and Addis Ababa, Ethiopia (52), also fell within the moderate range, affected by vehicle emissions and industrial activities.
Further down on the ranking, Nairobi, Kenya (48), and Algiers, Algeria (47), had air quality close to the “good” threshold but still required monitoring.
Johannesburg, South Africa (44), had the lowest AQI among the cities, suggesting relatively better air quality.
The data highlights ongoing air pollution challenges across African cities, driven by urbanization and industrialization, stressing the need for sustainable policies and pollution control measures to protect public health.
