Climate & Health

Air Quality & PM2.5 Pollution

Tracking fine particulate air pollution (PM2.5) across African countries – who breathes clean air, who is above WHO guidelines, and how this has evolved over time.

Why PM2.5 matters

PM2.5 are fine particles that can penetrate deep into the lungs and bloodstream. Long-term exposure is linked to heart disease, stroke, lung cancer and other health impacts.

This dashboard uses Our World in Data’s PM2.5 dataset to monitor mean annual exposure (µg/m3) for African countries, compare them to the WHO guideline of 5 µg/m³, and track progress over time.

Dashboard Highlights

PM2.5 values are population-weighted mean annual exposure. Only African countries are displayed in the analytics below.

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African countries with data
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Most recent year
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Above WHO guideline

Use the tabs below to explore the PM2.5 map, country trajectories, top polluted / cleanest countries and a detailed air quality registry.

Loading PM₂.₅ air quality data...
Parsing Our World in Data PM₂.₅ time series...
PM₂.₅ exposure, latest year (µg/m³)
Choropleth map of mean annual PM₂.₅ exposure. Darker colours indicate higher pollution. Click a country to see details and whether it is above the WHO guideline of 5 µg/m³.
Click a country for details
Select Country
Latest year --
Latest PM₂.₅ level --
WHO guideline (annual) 5 µg/m³
Status vs WHO --
Long-term change --
First data year --
DATASET CURATED, VERIFIED & DESIGNED BY PaneoTech FOR CLIMATE WATCH AFRICA
PM₂.₅ trajectory over time
Long-term evolution of mean annual PM₂.₅ exposure for the selected country, with WHO guideline shown as a reference line.
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Latest PM₂.₅ (µg/m³)
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Change since first year
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Years below WHO guideline
DATASET CURATED, VERIFIED & DESIGNED BY PaneoTech FOR CLIMATE WATCH AFRICA
Most polluted (latest year)
African countries with the highest PM₂.₅ exposure in the most recent year with data.
Top 15 worst
Cleanest air (latest year)
African countries with the lowest PM₂.₅ exposure in the most recent year with data.
Top 15 cleanest
Biggest improvers in PM₂.₅
Change in PM₂.₅ between the first and latest year with data for each country. Negative values indicate improvement.
Long-term change
DATASET CURATED, VERIFIED & DESIGNED BY PaneoTech FOR CLIMATE WATCH AFRICA
Country First year First PM₂.₅ Latest year Latest PM₂.₅ Change (absolute) Change (%) Status vs WHO
DATASET CURATED, VERIFIED & DESIGNED BY PaneoTech FOR CLIMATE WATCH AFRICA
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