KAMPALA, Uganda – Kampala’s air pollution significantly exceeds World Health Organization limits, primarily due to emissions from aging heavy-duty vehicles and dust from unpaved roads, according to recent studies. Experts are urging stricter regulations and cleaner transport initiatives to curb health risks associated with the city’s poor air quality.
A study by The Real Urban Emissions (TRUE) Initiative, in partnership with the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), subjected 6,000 vehicles in the Ugandan capital to emission testing. It found that heavy-duty vehicles, with an average age of 26 years, contribute significantly to particulate matter (PM2.5) and nitrogen oxides (NOx), major exacerbators of urban air pollution. Minibuses averaged 25 years, while passenger cars and light commercial vehicles averaged 19 years.
Road transport contributes up to 60% of ambient air pollution in Kampala, which exceeds the WHO limit for PM2.5 by up to 12 times, according to a statement from the TRUE Initiative. The pollution is estimated to account for 19% of adult deaths from non-external causes.
“Conducting the first-ever remote sensing campaign in Kampala was vital to filling the knowledge gap surrounding the fleet’s real-world emissions impact on air pollution,” said Mallery Crowe, a researcher with the International Council on Clean Transportation and lead author of the TRUE Initiative report, “Evaluation of Real-world Vehicle Emissions in Kampala.” She added the insights would be invaluable to policymakers.
Findings from Public Square, an organization focused on public information, supported the concerns. A recent study by the group registered 218 micrograms per cubic meter (µg/m³) of lung-penetrating pollutants in Kampala’s Kawempe Industrial Zone. The WHO defines poor air quality as PM2.5 concentrations above 5 µg/m³ per day, meaning the Kawempe reading was nearly 43 times the recommended limit.
Ms. Dorothy Lsoto, an air quality and public health scientist at Wisconsin University, said breathing good quality air could increase one’s lifespan by at least 2.3 years. She noted that finding good quality air is difficult in busy Kampala locations such as Kawempe, Kalerwe, Ntinda and Bweyogerere.
Conflicting Data on Air Quality
Ms. Jennifer Kutesakwe, a senior environment inspector at Uganda’s National Environment Management Authority (Nema), offered a more optimistic assessment. She told Saturday Monitor that air quality in Kampala for April, May and June was only 1.5 times above the WHO recommended standard. Kutesakwe attributed this improvement to an increase in tarmacked roads by the Kampala Capital City Authority and a reduction in waste burning. She suggested that high readings from some studies could be skewed by localized emissions from passing vehicles or charcoal stoves.
However, data from non-state actors, including readings by runners for Public Square, indicated a less favorable picture. On July 2, a group of Uganda Christian University students running from Mukono to Lugogo registered an average reading of 106 µg/m³, which is at least 21 times above the WHO limit. The consensus among these groups is that Kampala requires significant investment to reduce air pollution.
Dr. Winceslous Katagira, an internal medicine physician and research scientist at the Lung Institute, said Kampala’s air is generally unhealthy on most days, with Saturdays often registering the worst pollution. Sunday is typically the cleanest day. Katagira added that Kampala’s air quality is generally unsafe for more than 90% of days annually. A Makerere University study nearly four years ago also found Kampala’s air quality to be at least 10 times above the WHO safe limit.
The Makerere study noted that rainy seasons, from March to June and October to December, show lower PM2.5 concentrations. Conversely, dry seasons are the most polluted, partly due to numerous dirt roads that generate dust. Dirt and potholed roads also contribute to traffic jams, causing vehicles to emit more smoke due to slower speeds.
TRUE Initiative findings made public on July 1 concluded that most vehicles in Kampala emit over Euro 4 emission limits, regardless of age or origin. The report noted that while newer gasoline passenger cars under eight years of age showed lower NOx emissions compared to older cars, levels were still 5.5 times higher than Euro 4 limits. Katagira warned that ongoing road construction, coupled with increasing traffic and presidential travel schedules, threaten to make 2025 the most polluted year.
Recommendations for Corrective Action
Jane Akumu, who leads Africa’s clean transport program at UNEP, said heavy-duty vehicles such as trucks, buses and minibuses are major sources of traffic-related pollution. Unlike East African neighbors Kenya, Tanzania and Rwanda, Uganda lacks safeguards like age limits, tax measures and emission standards for imported old heavy-duty vehicles. Akumu said the average age of heavy-duty trucks imported into Uganda stands at 37 years, while minibuses, a crucial form of public transport, average 25 years.
To combat Kampala’s air pollution, Lsoto advises Ugandans to consider buying air filters. However, she emphasized that the city must invest in improving air quality universally so that all residents can live healthy lives.
The TRUE Initiative recommends that the government of Uganda strengthen vehicle importation requirements, stating that each imported vehicle should be tested to ensure Euro 4 standards are met upon importation. They suggest standards should rise to Euro 6 levels by 2030. The initiative also advises promoting cleaner public transportation, encouraging a transition to newer, lower-emitting minibus taxis with a 15-year limit now, reduced to eight years by 2030.
Experts warn that without investments in improving air quality, Uganda risks a decline in its youthful and healthy population. A 2025 study by academics at University College London empirically proved that early air pollution exposure affects health in adolescence. Katagira highlighted the vulnerability of the elderly, who have reduced immunity, and children and adolescents, whose lungs are still growing.
According to WHO, high pollution levels can lead to complications including stunting in children and impaired lung development. Particles smaller than 2.5 microns can enter the body and cause rising blood pressure, heart disease, strokes, lung cancer and asthma with long-term exposure.
Other recommended interventions to improve air quality in Kampala include increasing green spaces, protecting and rehabilitating wetlands such as those in Bugolobi, Kinawataka and Lubigi. Akumu said the government’s plan to use electric vehicles for public transport and provide special lanes for these buses would also reduce road traffic’s contribution to air pollution. The University of Chicago’s Air Quality Life Index suggests that improving air quality to meet WHO standards could increase the life expectancy of Ugandans.