Gauteng is South Africa’s most deadly province when it comes to air pollution, recording an estimated 16,000 deaths each year, according to new research from Finland-based environmental research organisation the Centre for Energy and Clean Air (CREA).
Nationally, exposure to fine particulate matter known as PM2.5 contributes to roughly 42,000 deaths annually. That figure includes around 1,300 deaths of children under the age of five. CREA also calculated that the total economic cost of air pollution-related health impacts reaches approximately R960 billion per year, equivalent to about 14% of South Africa’s GDP. According to Business Tech, that cost covers lost working days, medical expenses and unrealised investments in children’s futures, such as education.
