Cape Town - If Cape residents have noticed a brown haze appearing in their recent sunset pictures, that might be the result of the periodic air pollution experienced during the winter months in the mother city from vehicle and factory emissions, gardening or crop chemicals and numerous other sources.
Experts delved into the causes behind this and its impact in the hope of raising awareness and educating citizens on how this air pollution impacted them and their loved ones.
Solenco air treatment specialists director Trevor Brewer said: “Like all big cities, industrial and commercial activities play a massive role in the air quality in the area. Vehicles, buses and trucks also play a crucial role in releasing air pollution which has a negative impact on the air quality and therefore affects people’s health.”
Mayco member for community services and health, Patricia van der Ross, said it was important to note that ambient air quality in the city was generally in compliance with the prescribed ambient air quality standards.
“However, we do experience periodic air pollution episode days, primarily in the winter months, due to prevailing climatic conditions which we experience from May through to September, when temperature inversion conditions occur more frequently.”
Under these conditions, Van der Ross explained that the air pollutants generated were trapped close to the ground surface by a warmer layer of air located above the cold layer that acted as a “lid” and prevented dispersion. These pollutants were only able to disperse once the Earth’s surface warmed up during the day.
Brewer said this air pollution could also have an impact on the aesthetics of an area, as seen so often in Cape Town with the brown haze.
Vusi Mahlangu, a senior researcher at the CSIR, added that the brown haze smog over Cape Town started way back in the 1960s and that it could eventually envelope the region since it was a low-lying area.
Brewer added: “The impact and source of the air pollution is dependent on where in the city you live. Durbanville Hills will be exposed to pesticides as used on crops within the wine industry, and those close to the refinery like Bloubergstrand, Tableview and Milnerton will be impacted by the industrial action of these refineries.”
The City said areas impacted by poor air quality included Khayelitsha and Wallacedene, where very localised emissions sourced from informal traders, residential wood burning and traffic emission impacts were observed.
Exposure to unsafe levels of air pollution was known to cause respiratory illness, ischaemic heart disease, strokes and other serious medical conditions thus all sectors of society had a role to play in combating air pollution.