At least 13 sensors will soon be installed in the city of Kigali to monitor the level of air and noise pollution. The sensors will be established by Rwanda Environment Management Authority (REMA) and the African Institute for Mathematical Sciences (AIMS). The sensors are part of a new Kigali City Framework for Noise and Air Quality Monitoring Campaign. Officials said that in many low and middle-income countries particularly Sub-Saharan, data on air pollution is scarce, thus limiting policy planning and implementation. The campaign aims to monitor the level of noise and air pollution in the City of Kigali to inform decisions of policy makers on matters related to air and noise pollution. The Kigali city monitoring campaign will provide a comprehensive environmental dataset of high spatial and temporal resolution for noise and air pollution. “Air quality monitoring and air pollution control are among our priorities in protecting the environment. Rwanda’s air quality monitoring system gives us the information we need to address air pollution, and provides information to citizens about the status of the air where they live and work,” said Juliet Kabera, Director General, Rwanda Environment Management Authority. She said that the air quality monitoring equipment is not enough for high spatial coverage. “With the additional 13 sensors, we will be able to have high spatial resolution data that leads us in decision making. This new campaign will help us to measure and boost the impact of the interventions we have introduced to reduce air and noise pollution to ensure a better life for all,” she said. She said that the data will be utilized to improve understanding of sources and distribution of environmental stressors across the City of Kigali, and provide a resource for future application in areas such as health studies, planning advice, public engagement, and enforcement. Researchers from AIMS together with REMA, will develop mathematical models for air pollution forecasting that estimate air pollution across Kigali City to map the existing real data with the satellite, and using the predictive models, bridge the gap. “To monitor the level of air and noise pollution, 13 sensors will be installed across Kigali to provide real-time data on the level of pollution and more sensors are going to be shipped in January 2023. AIMS will install nine fixed sensors, but also there will be 135 rotational sites,” said Wilfred Ndifon, the Chief Scientific Officer At AIMS Global Secretariat. The sites have been carefully selected by AIMS, REMA and Rwanda Meteorology Agency by involving the University of Massachusetts Amherst and the University of Ghana. Rwanda has developed a countrywide Air Quality Monitoring System which provides data on the quality of the air in 23 sites across Rwanda. The Air Quality Monitoring System was developed through the Air Quality and Climate Change Monitoring Project, which has been funded by the Rwanda Green Fund (FONERWA). It was designed in collaboration with Massachusetts Institute of Technology and implemented by the Rwanda Environment Management Authority and the Ministry of Education. The system provides real-time Air Quality Index (AQI) for each station in both numerical and colour code format. It also highlights the dominant air pollutant which is responsible for air quality degradation during the reported period for each station. It will help Rwanda to compare ground observation data with satellite data through remote sensing technology to verify their accuracy. The system will further strengthen Rwanda’s existing field-installed air quality monitoring network by providing online access to pollution readings from each station as well as data management including data sharing mechanisms. According to the results of a recent study, Rwanda is being affected by all major pollutants. The research shows that vehicle emissions are the leading source of air pollution in Kigali. Other contributors to poor air quality in Rwanda include the industrial sector, charcoal cookstoves and agricultural waste burning.
