Air quality in Kampala deteriorated further in the month of November 2025, whether in terms of particles in the atmosphere, gases and noise pollution.\u200e<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u200eData compiled around Kampala by various government and private organisations shows that particulate matter increased by 26.8 percent from 31.4\u00b5g\/m\u00b3 (micrograms\/cubic metre) in October 2025 to 39.8\u00b5g\/m\u00b3 in November.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u200e\u200eOn the other hand, noise pollution in Kampala increased by 0.57% from 64.29 decibels in October 2025 to 64.66 decibels in November 2025, according to the data published by the Ministry of Finance, Planning and Economic Development.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u200e\u200e\u201dAir pollution and climate change in Uganda pose a micro-economic challenge since rapid urbanization, transport emissions and household energy choices increase health \u200eexpenditures and reduce individual productivity and welfare,\u201d says the ministry\u2019s statement.\u200e<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u200eMonitors show that air quality in Kampala tends to deteriorate in the mornings and in the evenings, probably because of the heavy traffic congestions during rush hours.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u200eAir pollution, primarily particulate matter (PM2.5), is one of the most serious contemporary health threats globally, causing over 7 million premature deaths annually, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u200eParticulate matter (PM) refers to tiny particles or droplets \u2013 less than 2.5 micrometres in diameter \u2013 in the air that can be inhaled and cause health issues. They can come from pollution, smoke, dust, or even wildfires.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u200eThe 2024 World Air Quality Report ranked Uganda as the 8th most polluted country globally with particulate matter at 41\u00b5g\/m\u00b3.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u200eKampala Capital City Authority (KCCA) has, as part of its efforts against air quality, installed about 100 air quality monitors across the five city divisions and trained \u201cair quality champions\u201d to lead the efforts at the grassroots.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u200eMost reports point at air pollution by vehicles, followed by dust, factory emissions and poor garbage disposal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u200eA random check on December 26, 2025 showed a drastic improvement in air quality in Kampala compared to the previous weeks, to particulate matter content of less than 18.46\u00b5g\/m\u00b3 down from 40\u00b5g\/m\u00b3.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u200eParticulate matter of less than 10 microns in size were found at a low 27.9 micrograms per cubic metre, while nitrogen dioxide and sulphur dioxide were also found to be very low in the air.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u200eThe conclusion was that it was because of the very few vehicles on the streets due to the season\u2019s holiday when most people travel upcountry. This is expected to have led to less emissions and dust.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u200eThe Fourth National Development Plan (NDPIV) emphasizes the need to improve<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u200eair quality by reducing the annual average air pollution level from 41\u00b5g\/m\u00b3 in financial year 2024\/25 to 5\u00b5g\/m\u00b3 by 2029\/30.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u200eThe statement says that to achieve this, Government has \u200estrengthened and enforced the legal and regulatory frameworks by implementing the National Environment (Air Quality Standards) regulations, 2024.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u200eThese regulations prohibit harmful emission from objectionable matter or obnoxious smells including smoke, gases, vapours, fumes, dust or other matter capable of being dispersed or suspended in the atmosphere.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u200eIn addition, they prohibit a person from causing emissions into the air beyond permissible limits.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u200eThe Kampala Health and Pollution Action Plan (HPAP) recently launched under the Environmental Pollution Programme in Uganda (EPP-UG) recently aims at tackling issues related to pollution including vehicle emissions, industrial activities, domestic and municipal waste, medical and mining byproducts and construction debris.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u200eAmong other approaches, for example, Government is enforcing the EURO 4\/IV vehicle emissions standard of the East Africa Community that prohibits importation of vehicles that are more than 15 years old, helping to reduce urban air pollution.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u200eThe National Energy Policy 2023 is also expected to help reduce on emissions through enhancing the use of clean energy such as the Liquefied Petroleum Gas n order to reduce reliance on charcoal and its associated environmental and health impacts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u200eGovernment has also established low-cost monitoring stations by AirQo in urban areas, including high-resolution systems that have been deployed in Kampala, Jinja, Fort Portal, Kira, and Kabale to monitor air quality.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u200eThe ministry of water and environment says that as of December 2024, Uganda had over 171 air quality monitoring sites across all its regions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u200eThe National Environment Management Authority (NEMA) is also working with KCCA and Makerere University AirQo to establish a network of sensors in<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u200evarious parts of the country, to get more accurate records for the whole country.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u200eKCCA Executive Director, Sharifah Buzeki, recently told a delegation from Dhaka, Bangladesh, under the Partnership for Healthy Cities, that the investment is a community-led monitoring initiative that places \u201cair quality champions\u201d at the heart of neighbourhood-level surveillance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u200eEach cell or village has at least four trained champions responsible for collecting real-time air quality information and reporting emerging concerns to ensure \u201ctimely interventions\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u200eShe said that KCCA was also implementing a set of public health and environmental regulations designed to cut down human exposure to harmful pollutants, like the promotion of a smoke-free Kampala.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u200eAmong the interventions are enforcing restrictions on public smoking and intensifying efforts to discourage the open burning of waste, which is common especially in Kampala\u2019s crowded settlements.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u200e\u201dFrom expanding air quality monitoring and greening our city, to enforcing vehicle inspections, paving more roads to reduce dust, and investing in non-motorised transport, KCCA is committed to ensuring cleaner air. But lasting change happens when every resident gets involved,\u201d says Buzeki.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u200eAccording to Eng Julian Tabaro, a climate change analyst, in Kampala on average, a person takes in bad air equivalent to at least 5 sticks of cigarette a day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u200e\u200e\u201d22 micrograms PM 2.5 is equivalent to 1 cigarette per day. Now imagine in Kampala where we even go to 100 PM 2.5 on some days throughout the day! In a day you have smoked over several cigarettes unintended\u201d, she says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Editor:mserwanga@gmail.com<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Air quality in Kampala deteriorated further in the month of November 2025, whether in terms of particles in the atmosphere,<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":16259,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[65],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-16258","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-national-news"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/kcca.png","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":8611,"url":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/leave-cars-home-and-walk-to-avoid-non-communicable-diseases-minister-kyofatogabye-advises\/","url_meta":{"origin":16258,"position":0},"title":"Leave cars home and walk to avoid non communicable diseases \u2013Minister Kyofatogabye advises","author":"UgandaUpdate","date":"March 30, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"\u00a0 By Zurah Nakabugo The State Minister for KCCA and Metropolitan Areas Kabuye Kyofatogabye has advised people to leave their cars at home for some days and walk to work to avoid Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs) that are caused by being over weight, high cholesterol levels and not doing exercises. \u201cWe\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Environment"","block_context":{"text":"Environment","link":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/category\/environment\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/1d.-People-playing-and-walking-on-Kampala-streets-during-Kampala-car-free-day.-IMG_20230326_120754_933-scaled.jpg","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/1d.-People-playing-and-walking-on-Kampala-streets-during-Kampala-car-free-day.-IMG_20230326_120754_933-scaled.jpg 1x, https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/1d.-People-playing-and-walking-on-Kampala-streets-during-Kampala-car-free-day.-IMG_20230326_120754_933-scaled.jpg 1.5x, https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/1d.-People-playing-and-walking-on-Kampala-streets-during-Kampala-car-free-day.-IMG_20230326_120754_933-scaled.jpg 2x, https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/1d.-People-playing-and-walking-on-Kampala-streets-during-Kampala-car-free-day.-IMG_20230326_120754_933-scaled.jpg 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":6002,"url":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/state-minister-for-minerals-lokeris-launches-project-to-reduce-indoor-air-pollution\/","url_meta":{"origin":16258,"position":1},"title":"STATE MINISTER FOR MINERALS LOKERIS LAUNCHES PROJECT TO REDUCE INDOOR AIR POLLUTION","author":"UgandaUpdate","date":"June 23, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"By ZURAH NAKABUGO The Minister of State for Minerals Mr. Peter Lokeris has called for urgent intervention to reduce the dangerous effects of solid biomass (charcoal and wood) -with traditional wasteful technologies that are associated with indoor air pollution. \u201cUganda\u2019s energy sector is characterized by the heavy reliance on solid\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Energy"","block_context":{"text":"Energy","link":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/category\/energy\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/en-scaled.jpg","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/en-scaled.jpg 1x, https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/en-scaled.jpg 1.5x, https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/en-scaled.jpg 2x, https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/en-scaled.jpg 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":6975,"url":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/minister-of-works-and-transport-general-katumba-wamala-boards-kayoola-electric-bus-on-his-way-to-work\/","url_meta":{"origin":16258,"position":2},"title":"MINISTER OF WORKS AND TRANSPORT GENERAL KATUMBA WAMALA BOARDS KAYOOLA ELECTRIC BUS ON HIS WAY TO WORK","author":"UgandaUpdate","date":"October 21, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"On chilly Friday\u00a0 morning today - the Minister of Works and Transport Gen. 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