SACAQM featured in Nature Africa

SACAQM was recently featured in Nature Africa for its AI-enabled air-quality monitoring network in Johannesburg, highlighting how dense, low-cost sensor deployments are transforming pollution monitoring across African cities.

The feature describes how SACAQM’s network captures rapid pollution fluctuations at neighbourhood scale, revealing short-lived PM₂.₅ hotspots that emerge and dissipate within one to two hours. These patterns, driven by traffic peaks, illegal burning, and localised sources, are invisible to satellite products and sparse reference-grade stations.

Following a successful pilot launched in mid-2024, SACAQM has begun scaling the network to 500 sensors across Gauteng, creating the most densely monitored province for air quality in Africa. The resulting high-resolution, minute-by-minute data form the backbone of AI-based forecasting and real-time alert systems designed to support public-health response and urban decision-making.

Read the full article in Nature Africa: https://www.nature.com/articles/d44148-025-00394-w

French version available here: https://www.nature.com/articles/d44148-025-00393-x