East African City Centers Show Lower PM_2.5 Levels than Their Suburbs.

ABSTRACT: Urban air pollution remains a pressing challenge in rapidly developing economies, particularly in data-scarce regions. This study examined air quality in three major East African citiesKampala, Nairobi, and Dar es Salaamby integrating low-cost air sensors with satellite data to produce 1 km × 1 km resolution daily PM_2.5 (particulate matter smaller than 2.5 μm) maps from 2019 to 2023. Average PM_2.5 concentrations were 31.4 ± 6.6 μg/m³ around Kampala, 21.7 ± 2.8 μg/m³ around Nairobi, and 33.1 ± 7.4 μg/m³ around Dar es Salaam, indicating moderate to unhealthy levels of air quality. Unexpectedly, urban centers exhibited lower PM_2.5 levels than surrounding suburban area. This discrepancy is likely due to combustion-related acti

SUBMITTER: Chua SX 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12424180 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature