Air pollution poses a significant and growing environmental and public health challenge in South Africa, particularly in densely populated low-income residential areas. While public attention often centers on large industrial facilities and fossil fuel-burning operations with visible smokestacks, experts emphasize that these are not the primary sources of poor air quality in many residential communities.
Research indicates that the main contributors to degraded air quality in low-income areas include the burning of solid fuels such as wood and coal for cooking and heating, vehicle emissions, dust from uncovered surfaces and open fields, and the open burning of waste.
Kesaobaka Mokgalagadi, a resident in one such area, rises before sunrise to light her wood fire for cooking and heating water. Although electricity is available in her home, she relies primarily on wood fires due to the unreliability and high cost of electricity. She explains that power outages occur without warning, often interrupting cooking processes—for example, leaving fat cakes (vetkoek) or pap (maize meal porridge) undercooked and inedible. “Cooking with electricity is a problem because sometimes the power turns off while you’re still cooking,” Mokgalagadi says. “Electricity is not safe because it switches off with no warning.”
She highlights the affordability and accessibility of wood: “Electricity is expensive, especially now. It is worse. When I’m able to get at least 50 rand, I can buy it just to turn on the lights in the house. We only cook outside.” Mokgalagadi notes that with about 50 rand, she can purchase enough wood for cooking needs, making it a practical choice amid rising energy costs.
Experts point out that the widespread use of solid fuels like wood and coal is a common reality for many households in low-income, densely populated areas. This practice, combined with vehicle emissions and waste burning, significantly worsens local air pollution.
One expert notes that public perception often fixates on visible industrial emissions, such as smoke from large stacks or steam from factories. However, these are not the sole or even primary sources in residential settings. “People will typically think about the big smoke stacks… Unfortunately many times the things that you see might be for example steam rising out of a factory… Of course, vehicles, the cars that we drive is a big culprit. And then open fields where there’s wind blowing, you will see the dust coming off the open areas. And then every other activity that humans are busy with, almost every one of them will contribute to bad air quality.”
The challenges stem largely from poverty, inadequate public services, and insufficient infrastructure. Without reliable clean public transport, residents often depend on older, more polluting vehicles. Poor waste collection services force communities to burn refuse, leading to severe air quality impacts. A notable example occurred in Sharpville, where accumulated waste piles prompted residents to burn them, resulting in disastrous effects on local air quality.
Rising energy costs also affect informal street vendors, who switch to cheaper alternatives. One vendor describes shifting from gas to wood: “We used to also use gas to braai but now we’re looking at the cost factors… gas now I’m using 48. 48 is about 2 something per month. So then that gas takes me 7 days… So now the wood in a month I spend about 3.6. That on its own I’m saving there.”
Addressing air quality issues remains complex. Efforts to reduce national reliance on coal for electricity generation would require installing expensive pollution control technologies, which could further increase electricity prices and push more households toward cheaper, dirtier solid fuels.
Experts stress that tackling air pollution in these communities demands holistic solutions, including improved infrastructure, reliable and affordable clean energy access, better waste management, and measures to curb other local emission sources.
