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South Africa, Our Burning Planet

State of South Africa’s air quality under the spotlight in Parliament

State of South Africa’s air quality under the spotlight in Parliament
The Duvha Power Station in Mpumalanga. (Photo: Gallo Images / Foto24 / Lauren Mulligan)
Kristin Engel
By Kristin Engel
29 Oct 2024
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Parliament heard on Tuesday that air pollution continues to be a leading national environmental human health risk, especially in metropolitan and priority areas.

The Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment (DFFE) briefed the forestry, fisheries and environment committee in Parliament on Tuesday, 29 October 2024, on the state of air quality in the country, air quality monitoring stations and lack of enforcement of the Air Quality Act in the Vaal Triangle Airshed, Highveld and Waterberg-Bojanala priority areas.

Greenpeace Africa briefed the committee on its air pollution report, Major Air Polluters in Africa Unmasked. 

Both presentations concluded that more urgent efforts and enforcement were needed to improve the quality of air as priority areas, metropolitan areas and air quality hotspots continued to exceed the levels recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO), posing increased risks to public health.

air quality public health Air quality in areas of South Africa continues to exceed the levels recommended by the World Health Organization, posing increased risks to public health. (Photo: Alet Pretorius)



National air quality officer at the DFFE Dr Patience Gwaze said efforts were under way to enhance actions and improve the quality of air in the country through declared priority areas, metropolitan areas and air quality hotspots. 

However, despite interventions undertaken since 2006, not much improvement had been achieved in the areas of concern. Gwaze said air pollution continued to be a leading national environmental human health risk.

Priority areas and air quality management plans


In terms of priority areas, this is an intervention the national department put in place since 2006, as a mechanism to identify areas that exceed air quality standards and target improved enforcement of priority areas air quality management plans.

The Vaal Triangle Airshed (parts of Gauteng and the Free State) was declared a priority area in 2006, the Highveld (parts of Gauteng and Mpumalanga) was declared a priority area in 2007, and Waterberg Bojanala (parts of the Limpopo and North West) was declared a priority area in 2012. 

These declarations have allowed the DFFE to implement air quality management plans, which stipulate emission reduction and management and transcend the three spheres of government so that they can coordinate and implement air quality controls to improve the quality of air within these areas. 

To strengthen the implementation of the air quality management plans in priority areas, Gwaze said the DFFE had put in priority area regulations for enforcing plans – which came into effect in August 2024 – that provide mechanisms to improve enforcement of priority areas’ air quality management plans.
This, she said, was “because it’s been a while since we declared these priority areas and the fact that we are still seeing non-compliance means that further measures have to be put in place so that we can have targeted interventions and emission reduction for the polluters to improve the quality of air”.

In August 2024, Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment Minister Dion George gazetted the regulations for implementing and enforcing priority area air quality management plans.

These regulations provide for mandatory implementation of targeted emission reduction and management interventions; mechanisms for the government to monitor and evaluate the effectiveness of interventions as well as enforcement measures where noncompliance is identified.

Gwaze said they were working with the West Rand, City of Tshwane and City of Johannesburg municipalities to ensure these areas were also recognised as priority areas because the quality of air was equally compromised in some areas.

“In the next few months, we’ll be presenting for consideration the proposal to extend the priority area so that the interventions that we are putting in place through the implementation of the priority area regulations … will be strengthened across the whole of Gauteng… It’s an area that requires significant intervention,” Gwaze said.

Most of the priority areas are still not compliant with ambient air quality standards, hence the regulations and the need for further interventions.

(Source: DFFE)



At a provincial level, Gauteng, Mpumalanga, Free State, North West and Limpopo have the largest challenges, recording the lowest number of days with good air quality between 2019 and 2023.

“The areas already identified as priority areas still need interventions because over the past five years, we still have not seen the improvement we were expecting. We need to then consider the expansion to include the majority of Gauteng,” Gwaze said.

Proposed interventions and activities


Gwaze noted some of the proposed interventions and activities the department was undertaking to address the shortcomings.

One intervention was to improve cooperative governance and service delivery as air pollution sources spanned multiple mandates (waste, forestry, agriculture, energy, transport, health, human settlements, climate change and mining).

The department also seeks to establish dedicated air quality management structures and advocate for the resourcing of air quality monitoring functions across provinces and municipalities – designating air quality officers and environmental management inspectorates.

Read more: Scientists worry about SA’s collapsing air pollution monitoring stations

Greenpeace Africa report


Greenpeace Africa briefed the committee on its air pollution report released earlier this year, revealing regions that exceeded the WHO’s recommended air quality levels, posing significant health risks to millions. 

Read more: South Africa among top air polluters on the continent, NGO report finds

Cynthia Moyo, climate and energy campaigner at Greenpeace Africa, told the committee that based on their report, compiled from peer-reviewed literature and externally peer-reviewed by experts, including the WHO, South Africa was home to some of the biggest air pollution sources on the African continent as a result of its energy sector.

According to the report, a number of the world’s largest nitrogen dioxide and sulphur dioxide emission hotspots are in South Africa – including the Kriel, Matla, Duvha and Tutuka power stations.

air quality power stations The Duvha Power Station in Mpumalanga. (Photo: Gallo Images / Foto24 / Lauren Mulligan)



Six of the world’s 10 largest nitrogen dioxide emission hotspots were in South Africa, with thermal power stations in the country making up nine out of the 10 largest nitrogen dioxide point sources.

South Africa was also responsible for two of the world’s largest sulphur dioxide emission hotspots. Of the 10 largest sulphur dioxide sources in Africa, nine were thermal power stations in South Africa. “All these are owned by Eskom Holdings,” Moyo said. One source was linked to a smelter complex in Mali.

“The exposure to air pollution is the second-leading risk factor for death in Africa. South Africa has been found to have a large disease burden from fossil fuels…

“If WHO guidelines were met, life expectancy improvements could really be achieved in South Africa… Premature death rates from fossil fuel air pollutants are higher in South Africa than other southern African countries,” Moyo said.

Claudious Chikhozo, also from Greenpeace Africa, said that to some extent there was alignment between their report and the department’s findings and potential pathways to addressing these challenges.

“From our report, you can see Mpumalanga stands out globally for its high air pollution emissions, and that makes sense, because of the concentration of the fossil fuel industries. We feel that the government should urgently implement the Highveld priority area [air quality management plan]… but also uphold the Pretoria high court judgment on the deadly air litigation,” Chikhozo said.

Greenpeace Africa said any exemptions related to already weak air pollution regulations in this province and elsewhere, should not be considered. DM

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