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Air quality professionals from Makerere University instlling the AirQo sensors in Mbarara
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By Joshua Nahamya
Mbarara
Makerere University’s AirQo research team has installed 15 air quality monitors across strategic locations in Mbarara City to track, measure, and analyse pollution levels as part of efforts to combat climate change and protect public health. The initiative, supported by The Energy Policy Institute (EPIC) Air Quality Fund at the University of Chicago, aims to improve access to reliable air quality data in under-resourced regions.
“This is the city’s first continuous air quality monitoring network,” said Raja Fidel Wabinyai, AirQo Data Scientist. “It will provide open, timely information to guide local planning, targeted interventions, and citizen awareness in line with Uganda’s national air quality regulations.”
A team of airQo installers and environmentalists posing a photo with the Head Teacher Katukuru Primary School
So far, three devices have been operational — at Mbarara University, the Ministry of Water, and the main market. The newly added 12 sensors will expand coverage to better identify pollution hotspots.
Why it matters
Wabinyai said preliminary readings already show relatively high pollution levels in Mbarara. He linked poor air quality to increased health risks, stressing the importance of evidence-based action to reduce pollution from sources such as garbage burning, vehicle emissions, and industrial smoke. He urged city leaders to use the data for targeted interventions, including: Public sensitisation on clean energy use, afforestation programmes, stronger enforcement against harmful industrial emissions and encouraging the use of gas or improved cookstoves at the household level.
One of the air quality senosrs that detects the kind of air we breathe in Mbarara City being installed at Rwebikona Mbarara City. (Photo: Joshua Nahamya)
From Kampala to Africa
According to Gibson Oluka, a software engineering graduate and AirQo team member, the project began in 2015 under the leadership of Prof. Engineer Bainomugisha, Head of Computer Science at Makerere University. AirQo has since expanded from Kampala to 13 Ugandan cities and several African countries, deploying more than 300 sensors across the continent.
Local and national support
Deo Okure, AirQo’s Head of Research and Global Partnerships, said the project aligns with Mbarara’s development priorities. “By equipping the city with robust, local air quality data, we empower residents and leaders to make decisions that protect public health and the environment.”
NEMA Executive Director Barirega Akankwasah welcomed the development as a milestone in enforcing Uganda’s national air quality standards, while Mbarara City Principal Environment Officer David Sancho Nuwagaba said the monitors will provide real-time data instead of projections, enabling better decision-making. Mayor Robert Kakyebezi pledged to use the data to guide green initiatives, such as tree planting and pollution control.
Community engagement and protection of equipment
Local leaders, including Katukuru Primary School Head Teacher Silver Tugume, called on residents to protect the sensors from vandalism, assuring the public that the devices pose no health risks.
“We want pupils, parents, and teachers to know these devices only collect air data. They should help us conserve the environment by planting trees, protecting wetlands, and stopping garbage burning,” Tugume said.
The bigger picture
The World Health Organization estimates that urban air pollution causes over seven million premature deaths annually worldwide. In East Africa, a 2021 review found 294,000 deaths linked to air pollution, with biomass fuel use and vehicle emissions as leading causes. In Uganda, a Makerere University study published in 2024 attributed 7,257 deaths in Kampala between 2018 and 2021 to air pollution exposure.
The Mbarara network is part of a broader data-driven framework to strengthen air quality governance in Uganda and support the effective implementation of national regulations.
Torch Media Africa
