DOCRRA partners with CAP-Mzansi in creating awareness about air quality
The quality of the air we breathe is of great importance to all of us, young or old, urban or rural resident. Many people living on the Dolphin Coast have at some point experienced a smelly breeze, fine black dust covering everything, or in more serious events, respiratory issues.
The Dolphin Coast has its special challenges, particularly in the cold and dry season, when pollution emissions are trapped under a frequently visible brown smudge, known as an atmospheric inversion layer. These emissions are caused by several factors: illegal burning of combustible waste, traffic along the N2, veld fires, arson, and sugar cane burning as part of the harvesting process.
The Dolphin Coast Residents and Ratepayers Association will as a public service run weekly air quality graphs. These graphs will feature the week in review, based on the data obtained from the worst performing monitor in the Ilembe District independent monitoring network established by our partner organisation, Communities Against Pollution (CAP).
These graphs will give an accurate assessment of air quality levels on a scale of severity from green to maroon and offer precautionary health advisories. We’d like to encourage the Dolphin Coast community to take note of these updates and also urge you to check the near real-time monitor readings for yourselves – especially those who are sensitive to particle air pollution with respiratory, coronary, or other susceptible diseases on orange days or worse, and all those who are physically active outdoors on red days or worse.
Near real-time data of all the monitors is available at Air Quality Map – CAP
The public can also report incidents of air pollution on the site as part of CAP’s long-term project to collect, collate, and report pollution. The data is shared with universities and other air advocacy groups and will be used to challenge the provincial and national government’s inaction on air pollution and related health issues.
Illegal waste material burns in the Dolphin Coast area can also be reported to the KwaDukuza Fire and Emergency Services Department on 032 946 2711.
This graph shows the worst air quality for the last week as recorded by the CAP monitors. (Only for Illustration)
How to read the graph:
DOCRRA will provide further important information and links on air quality in the future.
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Thanks for this important information. The brown haze in the sky that I see virtually every day really worries me.