Only 39% of Gauteng’s air quality monitoring stations are fully operational, leaving residents ‘monitoring-blind’ to hazardous levels of pollution in the province.
Gauteng, the most polluted province in South Africa, now has just 39% of its municipal air quality monitoring stations operating as they should be.
Gauteng’s new MEC for Environment, Ewan Botha, confirmed to Daily Maverick that of the province’s 31 municipal-owned stations, only 12 are fully operational. A further three are partially operational, while 16 are completely non-operational.
The operational stations measure a range of pollutants: six monitor ozone, seven nitrogen dioxide, four carbon monoxide, 10 coarse particulate matter (PM₁₀), five fine particulate matter (PM₂.₅) and 12 sulphur dioxide.
