Experts say that the transport sector is one of the sources of air pollution in Kenya, because this sector mainly involves old vehicles that use fossil fuels.
According to health experts, asthma is one of the diseases caused by dirty air, especially from the smoke of cars that use fossil fuels.
A UNEP study that measured the levels of air pollutants on the roads in Nairobi, showed that the residents of this area are exposed to small particles in the air, more than the levels recommended by the WHO organization. According to them the public transport sector in Nairobi contributes to 60 percent of air pollutants.
The research also shows these pollutants have a significant impact on health. “Some of the diseases that have been linked to the dirty air of these cars, include cancer, heart diseases and respiratory system infections such as asthma and chronic diseases that affect the way of breathing in the lungs namely chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) A substance that causes damage to the lungs and causes lung cancer.
According to World Health Organization WHO, shows that urban air pollution, especially from these cars, is associated with more than 1.3 million deaths in the world every year. In November last year, a report by the Clean Air Fund showed that Nairobi is one of the six cities in Africa, which has been seriously affected by air pollution, causing many deaths.
In 2022, a study shows that air pollution caused more than 56,400 premature deaths in six major cities on the continent, including Nairobi, Accra, Cairo, Johannesburg, Lagos and Yaoundé. The World Health Organization (WHO), indicates that air pollution contributes to approximately seven million deaths worldwide each year.
In addition, the WHO organization estimates that 80 percent of non-communicable diseases are caused by causes that can be prevented, such as harmful environmental chemicals, including air pollutants. According to experts, one of the methods to reduce air pollution is for vehicles in the transport sector such as buses, to use alternative energy such as electricity.
Several studies show that electric vehicles have the ability to reduce air pollution due to carbon dioxide, as well as improve air quality. And for years now there has been a call for fossil fuel cars to be reduced on the road, and electric ones to be increased. In this country, last year Roam, a company responsible for creating electric cars and motorcycles, launched an electric public transport bus.
