Accra, the capital city of Ghana has been named among cities across the globe with high pollution risk, according to an environmental risk report by Verisk Maplecroft, a global risk consultancy firm.
According to the report, pollution risks- air and water pollution- yield an uncertain outlook on health for a number of urban cities across the world (i.e. Africa, Americas, Asia, Europe and Central Asia, Middle East and North Africa (MENA)).
Among cities in Africa captured in the report, Kinshasa, Ghana and Lagos recorded high pollution risk scores, with Lagos, West Africa’s most populous city scoring highest risk. The seven cities in the report include; Antananarivo, Khartoum, Johannesburg, Pretoria, Kinshasa, Accra and Lagos.
Considering four categories of pollution risk profile; low, medium, high and extreme, four cities; Antananarivo, Khartoum, Johannesburg and Pretoria scored medium pollution risk, whereas three cities; Kinshasa, Accra and Lagos scored high pollution risk in the order of severity.
However, cities with extreme pollution risks were found to be in Asia; Jakarta, Beijing, Kolkata and Delhi in the order of severity.
“Africa’s two most populous cities, Lagos and Kinshasa, are among those at highest risk, while South Africa’s relative wealth and lower exposure cushions its major urban centres. The rest of the world is not immune though. Other major population centres facing extreme risks from climate change include Caracas, Karachi, Manila and Jakarta, alongside Yemen’s war-torn Sanaa.”
“Focusing on air and water pollution gives a more even spread of risk; at least outside Asia, which again is home to the highest risk cities in the graphic below. The ‘airpocalypse’ in urban areas across China and India is well documented, but high levels of water pollution go more under the radar.”
Assessment of Air and Water pollution in Ghana
According to a World Health Organization (WHO) report published in 2020, the levels of air pollution in Accra was regarded as significantly high with concentrations of PM2.5, on average. From satellite modelling, the levels of air pollution concentrations recorded 36.02ug/m3.
The health risks are just enormous. In 2016 approximately 28,210 Ghanaians died prematurely from air-pollution-related diseases, according to World Health Organization (WHO) figures. More so, on average, uninsured individuals paid US$1090 per hospitalization from air pollution-related diseases each year in Accra.
Currently, Ghana is faced with a nationwide water crisis, as its water bodies are being destroyed by the activities of ‘galamsey’. In 2016, the Water Resources Commission was cited to have indicated that about 60% of the country’s water bodies are polluted by illegal mining and other activities. Observably, in 2021, this percentage would be closer to 90%, if not more.
The Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), in a research conducted in 2016 espoused that with the current rate of pollution of Ghana’s water bodies, Ghana was going to experience a water crisis by 2030.
Furthermore, in its Environmental risk report released in May 2021, the consultancy firm indicated in terms of climate change that “the significant danger for many cities is how climate change will multiply weather-related risks.
“Higher temperatures and the increasing severity and frequency of extreme events such as storms, droughts and flooding will probably change the quality of living and economic growth prospects of a large number of locations.”
Accordingly, with emphasis on its Climate Change Vulnerability Index, Verisk Maplecroft noted that, “African cities will come off worse given the continent is not only most exposed to climate extremes but is also least able to mitigate their impacts.”
