Clean Air Report Ghana
In a world where the very air we breathe is threatened, we embark on a journey to uncover the hidden truths about air pollution. Welcome to Clean Air Report Ghana, a program where we discuss Ghana’s growing air quality crisis and how it affects every aspect of our lives and our planet.
The program is a collaboration between Joy News, New Narratives and leading Ghanaian newsmedia. The host is Michael Asharley.
Clean Air Report Ghana
Tracking Accra’s Air: Lessons from 20 Years of Data
What can nearly twenty years of air quality data tell us about the city we live in today? In this episode of Clean Air Report Ghana, host Michael Asharley looks back at some of the earliest detailed measurements of air pollution in Accra — and what they reveal about how the city’s air has changed over time.
Michael is joined by Raphael Arku, an Associate Professor of Environmental Health Sciences at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, whose research has tracked particle pollution in Accra since the early 2000s. Their conversation breaks down where pollution comes from, how scientists trace it to specific sources, and why long-term particle data offers insights that short-term measurements often miss.
From transport emissions and biomass burning to the growing impact of waste burning and even sea salt, the episode shows how progress in one area can be undermined by setbacks in another. It is a careful, evidence-led look at why clean air is not a one-time achievement, but an ongoing challenge shaped by policy choices, urban growth, and how closely we listen to the data.
Clean Air Report Ghana is a collaboration between New Narratives and leading Ghanaian newsrooms. Funding is provided by the Clean Air Fund which had no say in the reporting.
