Abstract
Globally, air pollution is a significant cause of death, illness and social discomfort. The problem is particularly severe in Nigeria, the country with the highest number of premature deaths due to ambient particulate matter pollution in Sub Saharan region. It is especially worrying in Lagos, the country’s commercial capital and one of the world’s fastest growing megacities. Despite growing concerns about its deadly impacts, there is currently no reliable monetary estimate of the effects of ambient air pollution, nor a comprehensive control plan in Lagos. Using available ground-level monitored data and the most recent valuation techniques, this paper estimates that in 2018 alone, ambient fine particulate matter (PM2.5) caused about 11,200 premature deaths, and generated a health cost of US$2.1 billion in Lagos. This is equivalent to about 2.1 percent of Lagos’ GDP in the same year. These results call for an urgent plan of action to improve air quality in the city, with primary focus on the main pollution sources: road transport, industrial emissions, and power generation.
Highlights
Ambient air pollution is a growing public health problem
The problem is severe in Nigeria, the country with the highest number of premature deaths due to ambient particulate matter pollution in Sub Saharan Africa
Despite growing concerns about the air pollution challenge in Lagos, there is currently no reliable estimate of the impacts of the ambient air pollution in the city. This paper addresses this gap by providing a brief overview of the ambient PM2.5 pollution and an economic valuation of its effects on health in Lagos
Summary
Ambient air pollution is a growing public health problem. The air pollutants with the strongest evidence of health effects are particulate matter, ozone, nitrogen dioxide, and sulfur dioxide [1]. The authors concluded that petroleum combustion stemming from vehicular traffic and petrol-driven electric generators accounted for 70 percent of the overall PM2.5 mass load Overall, these results suggest that road transport, industrial emissions and power generation are the largest contributors to ambient PM2.5 pollution in Lagos. A recent analysis of the transport situation in Lagos suggests that road transport is a key source of air pollution in the city This is primarily due to high vehicle density (227 vehicles/km/day), use of old emission technologies (most cars are more than 15 years old), high sulfur content in imported fuel (3000 ppm in diesel and 1000 in gasoline), and limited transportation options in the city (only 1.3 km per million people of intracity rail, far less than in other megacities) [27]. A refined source apportionment study based on long-term monitored data is needed to identify and quantify the contribution of each source to the PM2.5 pollution in Lagos
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