Greater Cairo, situated at the apex of the Nile Delta, is one of the world's most densely populated regions. Air pollution stands as a significant environmental concern across the urban and rural landscapes of this bustling megacity. According to the World Health Organization (WHO 2016), approximately 6.5 million deaths are attributed to diseases caused by air pollution, with 92% of the global population residing in areas where air quality exceeds WHO limits.
This article delves into the multifaceted issue of air pollution in Cairo, Egypt, examining its causes, health impacts, and the various strategies being implemented to combat this critical problem.
A view of the Cairo skyline.
Understanding Urban Climate Phenomena: UHI and UPI
Two key urban climate phenomena are prevalent in urban landscapes: the urban heat island (UHI) and the urban pollution island (UPI). The former refers to warmer temperatures in urban areas compared to adjacent rural areas due to human activities, while the latter is linked to the emission of pollutants into the urban atmosphere, resulting in higher concentrations than in surrounding areas.
UHI is generally different from the surface urban heat island (SUHI). UHI is usually measured for air temperature records obtained from ground meteorological stations at the standard 2-m height, while SUHI is acquired by satellite derived land surface temperature (LST) data. The SHUI intensity (SUHII) denotes the difference between LST in urban land and LST in rural areas. Generally, UHIs and UPIs are correlated and linked to the combustion processes from transport, industry, and other human activities.
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Ideally, there are two mechanisms by which large urban landscapes could affect local, regional, and global climates. The first one denotes the influence of urban heating upon the local air circulation, whereas the second mechanism involves the emissions of pollutants that have subsequent effects on climate. Therefore, a systematic understanding of the UHI and UPI configurations and driving forces is critical for formulating efficient mitigation and adaptation strategies.
Causes of Air Pollution in Cairo
Air pollution has been a persistent issue in Egypt for decades, particularly in major cities like Cairo. In Greater Cairo, levels of fine particulate matter (PM10 and PM2.5), which pose the greatest risk to human health, are several times higher than the levels recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO). The urban structure reduces air circulation and lowers wind speed while enhancing vertical eddy mixing, which promotes concentrations of pollutants in the urban atmosphere.
The main sources of pollution are from the industry, transportation facilities, power generation plants, heating appliances and stoves.
Major contributors to air pollution in Cairo include:
- Transportation: Road transport accounts for 33% of PM2.5 air pollution, with aging private cars and taxis contributing significantly to congestion.
- Agricultural Practices: Agricultural slash and burn practices contribute 20% of the city’s PM2.5.
- Industrial Power: Industrial power contributes 17% of Cairo’s PM2.5, as the city hosts one-third of the nation’s industry.
- Burning of organic waste: The open burning of waste and organic waste in landfills releases harmful dioxins, furans, methane and black carbon into the atmosphere.
Other factors that exacerbate air pollution in Cairo include:
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- Topography and Climate: Cairo's location in a valley between two mountain ranges slows wind flow and traps dirty air. Frequent temperature inversions stifle airflow further, and infrequent rainfalls mean dirty air rarely gets washed away by a cleansing storm.
- Dust from surrounding deserts: Given its close proximity to the desert regions surrounding the country, a large portion of dust is blown in from the surrounding lands.
- Lack of rain: The lack of rain compounds to the situation because of the cleaning effect falling rain has.
The air over Cairo is very often thick and grey in colour and appears as a haze.
A map of Egypt showing the location of Greater Cairo.
The Role of Remote Sensing
Remote sensing is a powerful tool to study regional changes in LST, and hence the SUHII. However, spatial and temporal resolutions, in terms of the coarse pixel size, the frequency of data acquisition, and the lengths of temporal coverage could be significant limitations to remotely sensed data. Nevertheless, the development and improvement of thermal remote sensing provide a good means to compensate the flaws observed in conventional monitoring of UHI. Remote sensing technology could play a critical role in monitoring air quality at national, regional and global scales.
The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) onboard the first Earth Observing System (EOS) platform (called Terra), which was launched in 1999, provided a new era for global studies of atmosphere, land, and ocean processes. The other counterpart of Terra was launched in 2002 with the name Aqua. Both platforms provide daily images for the entire earth at 36 wavebands, covering the wavelength spectrum from the visible to the thermal infrared with local crossing times at approximately 01:30 and 13:30 for the Aqua and 10:30 and 22:30 for the Terra satellite. MODIS is therefore capable of acquiring nighttime observations of the land surface temperatures, which is advantageous to the Landsat satellite as the UHI is better observed at nighttime.
The emergence of the TROPOMI/Sentinel-5 Precursor satellite, which was launched in October 2017 by the European Commission Copernicus Programme, for monitoring the earth, was the milestone for monitoring the atmosphere at a daily basis. Since July 2018, the TROPOMI delivered calibrated data from its nadir-viewing spectrometer that measures reflected sunlight in the ultraviolet (UV), visible (VIS), near-infrared (NIR), and shortwave infrared (SWIR) with the spectral bands in the UV and VIS spectra for monitoring atmospheric gasses at 7 × 3.5 km spatial resolution (improved to 5.5 × 3.5 km after August 6, 2019) along a swath of 2600 km.
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Sentinel-5P is a near-polar orbiting sun-synchronous satellite flying at an altitude of 817 km above the earth’s surface in an ascending node with an equator crossing time at 13:30 (local time) offering daily worldwide coverages.
Health Impacts
Air pollution is a very important risk factor for non-communicable diseases, causing more than a quarter of all deaths in adults: 45 per cent from COPD, 30 per cent from lung cancer, 28 per cent from heart disease, and 25 per cent from a stroke. Air pollution also accounts for 52 per cent of deaths from communicable diseases such as acute lower respiratory infections.
Rates of respiratory disease have soared, adding to the burden on the state’s already-ailing hospitals.
Roughly 40,000 people are dying from pollution-related problems across Egypt every year, according to Breathe Life 2030, a joint initiative of the World Health Organization, UN Environment and the Climate and Clean Air Coalition to boost awareness of air pollution.
Among the living, bleak air quality is saddling more and more Cairenes with severe medical woes. “There’s narrowing of the airways, increasing risk of infection, more bronchial spasms, lung infections, pneumonia,” said Mahmoud El-Zorkany, a professor of chest diseases at Cairo University.
Across the Middle East and North African region, air pollution is responsible for 270,000 premature deaths - more than road injuries, diabetes, TB, malaria and HIV/AIDS combined.
Economic Costs
The economy is taking a pummelling, with poor air quality knocking off at least one per cent of gross domestic product every year, according to the World Bank.
According to the World Bank, the estimated economic cost of air pollution to the region is around 2% of GDP per year. These efforts to reduce air pollution could unlock more than $0.7bn - around 15% of Cairo’s costs under a BAU scenario in 2040. More importantly, in that year, about 3,000 deaths could be reduced, and GHG emissions reduced by 15% (13Mt of CO2 equivalent). The cumulative impact of the levers on air pollution in Cairo from 2023-2040 could save the city ~$6 bn, which is almost half of Egypt’s current in investments for educational, healthcare, and other social services ($ 14bn).
Mitigation and Management Efforts
The Egyptian government is actively taking steps to address air pollution. Its Vision 2030 has set a target of reducing PM10 concentrations by 50% by 2030.
Key initiatives include:
- Sustainable Transport: Investment in public infrastructure, such as Cairo’s Metro Line 3 and its extension, has reduced the number of cars on the city’s roads by 13% and brought annual average PM10 levels in Greater Cairo down by over 3% in 2017. The Ministry of Environment, funded by the World Bank, envisages the purchase of about 100 battery-powered electric buses (e-buses), which will work with, among others, its Cairo Governorate Environment Agency and the Cairo Transport Authority.
- Waste Management: The government is constructing a new recycling facility as an alternative to burning agricultural waste.
- Green Initiatives: The Agricultural Professions Syndicate began implementing a new initiative to plant one million fruit trees in public spaces around the country, starting with some of Cairo’s poorer, more polluted neighborhoods. The Green Belt project aims to introduce green spaces around the Ring Road of Greater Cairo and contribute to protecting the environment from pollution by intensifying the spread of greenery to mitigate the effects of vital variables harmful to the health of the population and investing the spaces around Greater Cairo in planting trees to achieve a strong economic return from trees that can be planted.
- Monitoring: The new air pollution and climate change management project aims to modernise the Egyptian system for monitoring air quality and strengthen the ability of the population in Cairo to cope with high pollution situations, including accidents that arise or are exacerbated by emissions, and severe weather phenomena.
The World Bank's Board of Executive Directors has approved a $200 million project to support Egypt's initiatives to reduce air pollution in Cairo. This project will focus on reducing greenhouse gas emissions from vehicles, improving solid waste management, and strengthening the decision-making system for air quality and climate.
The financial cost of air pollution-related premature mortality and absenteeism in 2019.
Air Quality Trends
In 2019, Egypt experienced “Moderate” air quality with a US AQI reading of 63, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO). In August 2020, air pollution had returned to record high levels among residents of Greater Cairo, after dropping significantly over the past months, as a result of closures and curfews due to the outbreak of COVID 19 in the country since mid-March.
Cairo’s air quality problems arise from both local and regional sources, worsened by rapid urban expansion and environmental factors. Agricultural burning, especially rice straw, contributes to seasonal spikes in pollutants like PM2.5 and NO₂. In addition, deposited dust and suspended particles containing heavy metals such as lead and chromium exceed safe limits in industrial areas.
An administrative map of the Greater Cairo region showing the population density at the 69 different districts.
Conclusion
Air pollution in Cairo is a complex issue with far-reaching consequences for public health and the economy. While the challenges are significant, ongoing efforts by the Egyptian government, international organizations, and local initiatives offer hope for a cleaner, healthier future for the city and its residents.
Improving air quality is essential on its own terms, and more funding is urgently needed. While Egypt received 54% of a modest $403.6 million total from international development funders between 2015-21 for African air quality, virtually all of that ($200 million) was committed to the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development’s (IBRD) Greater Cairo air pollution management and climate change project.
Air Pollution in Cairo, Egypt
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