Air pollution threatens the health of 3.1 million people across 5 districts in Northern. The average PM2.5 level is 9.8 µg/m³—2.0× higher than the WHO guideline.
Brought to you by Amrit Sharma
Northern faces significant air pollution challenges. 100% of districts exceed the WHO guideline for clean air. This is putting 3.1 million across 5 districts at risk.
The average PM2.5 over 2023 was 9.8µg/m³. That's 2.0 times the WHO guideline for clean air of 5µg/m³.
This is equivalent of everybody, including children, smoking about 163 cigarettes in a year.
If Northern met the WHO guideline of 5 µg/m³, the average person would live 0.48 years longer.
That's 1.5M years of life stolen from 3.1 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 5 most polluted districts in Northern. 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 Northern, sorted by population.
| District | Population | PM2.5 µg/m³ | Years Lost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bombali | 782K | 10.1 | 0.5 years |
| Port Loko | 758K | 9.8 | 0.5 years |
| Tonkolili | 635K | 9.7 | 0.5 years |
| Koinadugu | 518K | 9.3 | 0.4 years |
| Kambia | 436K | 10.1 | 0.5 years |
Showing 5 districts, sorted by population (largest first). PM2.5 values are for 2023. Years lost calculated against WHO guideline of 5 µg/m³.