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Greenhouse gases are emitted into the atmosphere by some of the industries in the basin.
Air, land and water pollution have been major
effects of urbanization in the basin, with
emissions of greenhouse gases such as carbon
dioxide, nitrous oxide, and methane on the
rise even though they remain proportionately
small on the world scale. Thermal power
stations at Chichiri and Lilongwe in Malawi, the
Copperbelt gas turbines in Zambia, and coal
power stations in Hwange, Munyati and Harare,
Zimbabwe are the basin’s major emitters of
greenhouse gases (SARDC and HBS 2010; SADC
and SARDC 2008). Greenhouse gas emissions,
much of which come from outside the Zambezi
basin, are blamed for the rise in temperatures,
altered weather patterns such as shifting
seasons, and increased incidence of droughts
and floods. Floods and temperature increases
are also associated with the rising incidence of
pests and diseases such as malaria (SARDC and
HBS 2010).
Carbon dioxide, nitrous oxide, sulphur dioxide,
suspended particulate matter, carbon monoxide
and lead, are the most common and harmful
air pollutants in the Zambezi basin. The use
of leaded fuel in most vehicles throughout
the basin, coupled with the ageing fleet, is
worsening the levels of pollution (Chenje, 2000;
UN-Habitat 2007). There has been slow progress
in phasing out leaded petrol in the basin. Only
Botswana, Namibia and Zambia have stopped
using leaded petrol.
Pollution
© Mukundi
Mutasa