The last time I was in my capital city, about 4 months ago, I happened to witness one of the numerous rampages that made international news involving the police and the resistive street vendors. Vendors were violently displaced, some arrested, when found in illegal vending spot. Part of a way to dislocate these illegal vendors, the police riots set goods on fire, including clothing and furniture on fire in the open air. And while my comment on whether or not the police was right on reacting that way is reserved, I do not see why yet again the environment too has to suffer the consequences of wars that we humans begin. What example can be set if the very police we expect to be prosecuting polluters are the ones starting fires and burning properties?

Toxic fumes from car exhausts and factory gaseous waste let out in the open air plagues the town I live in. The councils efforts are exhausted. In an economy that is up in smoke like the one there is in Zimbabwe, It is clear that most businesses and individuals are more concerned with getting maximum revenue for today and view air pollution as someone else's problem to deal with tomorrow. The laws that have been laid down are not enough. These need to be accompanied by effective educational programs diffused to the general population from as early as childhood.

Is the introduction of substances or surplus energy as waste products of human activities into the atmosphere which directly alters/ destroys the quality of the environment. This in effect causes undesirable repercussions on man, animals, vegetation and mineral.

Some of the major sources of Air Pollutions in Urban areas of Zimbabwe including Gweru, Bulawayo and Harare are industrial processes, Transportation and energy production.

modes of Transport releases toxic gases such as carbon monoxide, nitrogen dioxide, particulate matter, sulphates, lead, benzene and arsenic are major concern in my town and the highly congested capital city of Harare. The vihicle population has more than doubled over the last decade, especially due to the boom of the importation of the low-cost-second-hand Japanese cars. The already increased concentration of dirty air worsens during peak hours.

Energy production is another player that should lead policy makers to raise the environmental red flag as far as air pollution is concerned. In Zimbabwe most of the energy is derived from burning carbon based fuels such as coal, petroleum products and wood ( over 90% of the rural population relies on wood as a source of energy).h

Industries such as those for cement production, food processing, petroleum refineries, chemical plants, fertilizers and heavy metals are some of the  emitters of gaseous waste in industrialised towns. The location of these industries is the major problem. For example industries in Harare are located in the east of densely populated are of the city. the wind blows from the east to the west most of the year so pollutants are carried and deposited in residential areas. 

So in essence over a potential of a million people are everyday waking up to inhale some sulphur dioxide, carbon monoxide, methane or nitrogen oxide without even realizing it.

Which brings me to my final point. Air pollution is a silent assassin in most developing countries because there is often no data or measurement done to assess if air pollutants is going higher or not. Therefore there is a need for government, NGOs and other stakeholders to invest in equipment and projects that will monitor the levels of pollutions in various areas.

In the light of the above, fresh air is the resource of the 21st century, so for us to contaminate this resource would be foolish and would put the put the planet in a state of self destruction.