A recently conducted
study by the World Bank shows that the cost of mortality and morbidity due to
air pollution from exposure to fine particulate matter (PM₂.₅) stood at $2.1
billion or N631 billion (0.5% of Nigeria’s GDP).2 Lagos state
has an exceedingly high concentration of PM₂.₅, at annual mean
concentration of levels of 68μg/m³ which
exceed the World Health Organization (WHO)’s guideline for the annual mean PM₂.₅
level of 10μg/m³. Consequently, 11,200 people die from air pollution with 60
percent of the deaths under the age of 5. Sources of air pollution in the state
include, road transport, heavy energy dependence on inefficient diesel and
gasoline generators due to unreliable power, poor waste management, polluting
fuel and stoves for household cooking etc. Air pollution is injurious to human
health especially those that are already vulnerable – children, elderly, or
people with existing health problems. In addition, it increases the rate of cardiovascular and
respiratory ailments as well as mortality rates in the economy. Intrinsically,
the life expectancy is reduced by air pollution. Therefore, to curtail these
effects, low emission vehicles should be adopted and old generators should be
discarded. Thus, they should be replaced with a better source of power such as
renewable source of energy.
October 5, 2020
Nigeria Economic Update (Issue 37)
Related
Nigeria Economic Update (Issue 14)
The
considerable increase in inflation continued to be driven by
exchange-rate-pass-through from imported items as well as the lingering
scarcity in the availability of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS). One of the key ways
to reduce inflationary pressures in the near term is to improve the supply of
PMS to filling stations. In the medium to long term, the Nigerian National
Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) may need to revitalize local refining and bridge
the gap between the supply and demand for PMS by households and businesses.