Pollution
Mpumalanga world’s No 1 hotspot of nitrogen dioxide emissions, says Greenpeace.
Emalahleni area has earth’s dirtiest air – Greenpeace.
Mpumalanga has the world’s largest nitrogen dioxide (NO²) hotspot across six continents, the international environmental watchdog and lobby group Greenpeace says.
Nitrogen dioxide is a dangerous pollutant that contributes to the formation of PM2.5 and ozone, two of the most dangerous forms of air pollution (PM2.5 refers to atmospheric particulate matter with a diameter of less than 2.5 micrometres, which is about 3% of the diameter of a human hair).
Melita Steele, senior climate and energy campaign manager for Greenpeace Africa, said: “It has been reported before that the Emalahleni area has the world’s dirtiest air and now this analysis of high-tech satellite data reveals that Mpumalanga province is the global number one hotspot for nitrogen dioxide emissions.
“This confirms that South Africa has the most polluting cluster of coal-fired power stations in the world, which is disturbing and very scary.”
Mpumalanga is home to a cluster of 12 coal-fired power plants with a total capacity of more than 32 gigawatts, owned and operated by Eskom.
The satellite data also shows that Johannesburg and Pretoria have extreme nitrogen dioxide pollution levels as it’s blown from Mpumalanga into both cities by regular east winds.
The average wind direction over Johannesburg and Pretoria in the past 30 years on meteorological service Meteoblue shows that for about 28% of the year, the wind blows pollution from coal-fired power plants right into these cities. This means that plumes of dangerous nitrogen dioxide regularly cover their eight million residents.
Steele added: “Because SA’s coal belts are hidden from the view of the majority of South Africans, it’s easy to pretend they don’t exist.
“The reality is that coal extraction and burning has devastating impacts on the people living in the area.
“This satellite data confirms there is nowhere to hide: Eskom’s coal addiction in Mpumalanga means that millions of people living in Johannesburg and Pretoria are also impacted by the pollution from coal.”
The list of the largest nitrogen dioxide hotspots in the world includes coal-fired power plants in South Africa, Germany and India, and a total of nine coal power and industrial clusters in China. Santiago, London, Paris, Dubai and Tehran also feature high in the rankings due to transport-related emissions.
“Air pollution is a global health crisis, with up to 95% of the world’s population breathing unsafe air.
“South Africa is a significant global hotspot with its high concentration of coal power stations and its weak air pollution standards. Our government urgently needs an action plan,” said Steele.
Compared with many other countries, South Africa has relatively weak minimum emission standards that allow coal-fired power stations to emit up to 10 times more nitrogen dioxide than is allowed in China or Japan.
“And the majority of Eskom’s ancient and highly polluting coalfired power stations do not even comply with these limits. In 2015, Eskom was granted a five-year postponement from complying with these standards.
In 2018, Eskom again applied for postponements for nitrogen oxide standards at 16 of its 19 power plants, including 14 coal-fired power plants and two liquid fuel power plants.
“Coal kills and Greenpeace strongly opposes any more postponements of compliance with air quality regulations and demands all coal-fired power stations that don’t comply with the air quality regulations be decommissioned on an accelerated timeline.
“This means no new coal-fired power stations in the national electricity plan, units five and six of Kusile Coal Power Plant in Mpumalanga must be cancelled and 50% of coal-fired power stations are decommissioned by 2030 in line with the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Special Report.” –
Coal burning has devastating impact