Air pollution threatens the health of 1.1 million people across 7 districts in Turkana. The average PM2.5 level is 13.1 µg/m³—2.6× higher than the WHO guideline.
Brought to you by Amrit Sharma
Turkana faces significant air pollution challenges. 100% of districts exceed the WHO guideline for clean air. This is putting 1.1 million across 7 districts at risk.
The average PM2.5 over 2023 was 13.1µg/m³. That's 2.6 times the WHO guideline for clean air of 5µg/m³.
This is equivalent of everybody, including children, smoking about 217 cigarettes in a year.
If Turkana met the WHO guideline of 5 µg/m³, the average person would live 0.78 years longer.
That's 864K years of life stolen from 1.1 million people. Years of watching children grow up. Years of building a career. Years of quiet mornings and celebrations.
Lives cut short. Breathing kills.
The top 7 most polluted districts in Turkana. These areas face the greatest health burden from air pollution.
Distribution of population across different PM2.5 pollution levels. The WHO guideline is 5 µg/m³—only populations below this threshold are breathing safe air.
Complete air quality data for every district in Turkana, sorted by population.
| District | Population | PM2.5 µg/m³ | Years Lost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Turkana West | 435K | 14.2 | 0.9 years |
| Turkana South | 266K | 12.2 | 0.7 years |
| Loima | 180K | 12.4 | 0.7 years |
| Turkana Central | 151K | 12.1 | 0.7 years |
| Turkana North | 54K | 12.6 | 0.7 years |
| unknown 2 | 15K | 14.2 | 0.9 years |
| Turkana East | 6K | 15.2 | 1.0 years |
Showing 7 districts, sorted by population (largest first). PM2.5 values are for 2023. Years lost calculated against WHO guideline of 5 µg/m³.