Hope at last!!Liquid Telecom installs sensors to curb air pollution in Kenya

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Air pollution has been a nightmare not only in Kenya but across the world,in Kenya more than 20,000 people die annually as a result of contaminated air.
The effect of air pollution on human health is increasingly coming on the spotlight as a key threat to life.
 Liquid Telecom Kenya has partnered with Africa’s largest non-profit civic technology network Code for Africa (CfA) to install air quality sensors at 3,000 sites across Kenya, which will help curb air polution.
The sensors will be installed in a phased rollout at Liquid Telecom Kenya’s towers country-wide and powered by the company’s new Internet of Things (IoT) Low Power Wide Area (Sigfox LPWAN) network.
The nationwide rollout follows a pilot exercise in Nairobi with 60 air sensors managed by CfA’s sensors Africa. The pilot has confirmed widespread and dangerous air pollution in the city, supporting estimates from the Global Burden of Disease Study (GBD) that 20,739 Kenyans are dying each year from air pollution.
According to results from the pilot sensors, even on a Sunday, when traffic and industrial activity levels are reduced, Nairobi’s air quality is averaging 45% to 65% above the minimum safe pollutant levels set by the World Health Organisation (WHO).

Across Kenya, the WHO reports that air pollution is 
the fifth largest cause of deaths and disability after alcohol. However, actual deaths may be higher still, with air pollution increasing the risks of multiple lifestyle diseases, from diabetes and strokes to cancers.
“Air pollution in Kenya is a worsening problem as urbanisation and economic growth lead to substantial increases in traffic levels, construction of high-rise buildings and new industrial activities, releasing fine particulate matter into the air. Weak refuse removal services also result in citizens burning plastic and other garbage on roadsides, making pollution even worse,” said CfA technologist and sensors.AFRICA lead Chege James.
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Kenya’s government has moved to tackle this crisis with tougher air quality regulations in the 2015 amendment of the Environmental Management and Coordination Act of 1999.
Under the partnership the sensor network will be expanded to Mombasa and Nakuru, with Liquid Telkecom Kenya’s IoT network reducing the running costs for each of the sensors from Sh18,000 a year using traditional WiFi networks to just Sh1,200 a year.
The sensors will be deployed in a phased approach, starting with Nairobi’s Central Business District before moving to other towns. Pilot partnerships with civic watchdogs, such as community radio stations in Mukuru Kwa Njenga, Kibera, Korogocho Riruta, and Mukuru Kwa Reuben.
Do you think Kenya will be air pollution free country?

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