Scientists at the University of Witwatersrand have designed South Africa’s first app to warn residents of pollution levels, as Johannesburg suffers a spike in coal emissions recently, causing breathing problems and other health issues.
Africa’s wealthiest city lies not far from the country’s coal mines, and the rotten-egg smell of sulphur has often been present in the air.
Environment Minister Willie Aucamp attributed the stink afflicting Johannesburg to hydrogen sulphide emissions from mining and industrial operations as far as 400km east.
“This (sulphurous smell) came from mines that exceeded their emissions,” Aucamp told Reuters in an interview in Johannesburg.
“We don’t know which specific mines yet. Investigations are still ongoing.”
Some residents suffer breathing problems
The app, launching later this year, uses data from hundreds of air-monitoring systems. It sends out notifications and advises residents on protective measures like wearing a mask during pollution surges, although face coverings only help with smog and soot, not gases like sulfur compounds.
Coal employs tens of thousands of people and provides three quarters of South Africa’s electricity and a quarter of its liquid fuels, which are converted from coal by Sasol.
Johannesburg resident Philasande Shange, who has asthma, said he developed a cough in February and March, which a health practitioner linked to the city’s poor air quality.
“I couldn’t breathe or sleep, and I lost 15kg,” Shange told Reuters in an interview in Braamfontein.
Reuters interviewed five residents who reported flu-like symptoms, dizziness, sinus inflammation, and asthma flare-ups.
Air pollution’s economic cost undercounted
Bruce Mellado, a researcher who pioneered the app, SACAQM (South African Consortium of Air Quality Monitoring), said their system had picked up a growing frequency of pollution spikes.
South Africa’s two biggest polluters, Sasol and state-owned utility Eskom, were granted extensions to emissions exemptions in 2025. Their largest facilities lie east of Johannesburg.
Sasol spokesperson Alex Anderson said in an emailed response to questions that “no operational incidents or abnormal process conditions have been identified that would indicate an uncontrolled or atypical release” of sulfur emissions.
Eskom did not respond to a request for comment.
Authorities point to the need to balance environmental and economic imperatives when justifying lax air quality enforcement.
Activists say that this underestimates the economic cost of pollution-related diseases.
“We need more community monitoring to… understand how much air pollution actually costs us,” said Rico Euripidou, a campaign coordinator at GroundWork.
- Scientists at the University of Witwatersrand are developing South Africa's first pollution warning app to alert Johannesburg residents about harmful air quality levels amid increased coal emissions.
- Johannesburg experiences hydrogen sulphide emissions with a sulphurous smell linked to mining and industrial sources up to 400km away; investigations are ongoing to identify specific mines responsible.
- The app, launching later this year, will use data from hundreds of air-monitoring stations to notify residents and recommend protective measures like mask-wearing, although masks do not filter sulfur gases.
- Many residents report respiratory issues such as asthma, coughing, dizziness, and sinus inflammation attributed to poor air quality, highlighting health impacts across the city.
- Despite economic reliance on coal industries like Sasol and Eskom, which have received emissions exemptions, activists call for better air pollution monitoring and recognition of pollution's true economic and health costs.
Scientists at the University of
Africa's wealthiest city lies not far from the country's coal mines, and the rotten-egg smell of sulphur has often been present in the air.
Environment Minister Willie Aucamp attributed the stink afflicting Johannesburg to hydrogen sulphide emissions from mining and industrial operations as far as 400km east.
"
"We don't know which specific mines yet. Investigations are still ongoing."
Coal employs tens of thousands of people and provides three quarters of
Johannesburg resident
"I couldn’t breathe or sleep, and I lost 15kg,"
Reuters interviewed five residents who reported flu-like symptoms, dizziness, sinus inflammation, and asthma flare-ups.
Bruce Mellado, a researcher who pioneered the app, SACAQM (
Sasol spokesperson Alex
Eskom did not respond to a request for comment.
Activists say that this underestimates the economic cost of pollution-related diseases.
"We need more community monitoring to... understand how much air pollution actually costs us," said Rico Euripidou, a campaign coordinator at GroundWork.
