iLabAfrica Research Centre, Strathmore University

Kenya has never had a permanent, public source of air quality data, millions of people breathe air that has simply never been measured. Kenya Open Air is changing that. Led by iLabAfrica at Strathmore University, we’re installing open-source air sensors in three places that have never had any air quality monitoring at all: Kisumu, Eldoret, and Konza City, Kenya’s planned new smart city. All the data we collect will be shared freely and in real time, so anyone researchers, journalists, government officials, or curious citizens can see exactly how clean or polluted their air is. We’re working closely with Kenya’s environmental regulator, NEMA, to turn this evidence into stronger national air quality standards. For Konza City especially, we have a rare opportunity: capturing what the air looks like before the city grows, so clean air can be built into its planning from the very start.

For over a decade, Kenya’s air has gone almost entirely unmeasured: a gap that leaves millions unprotected and policy without evidence. With Kenya Open Air, we’re changing that. By deploying open, real-time PM2.5 monitors across Kisumu, Eldoret, and Konza City, we’re generating the country’s first sustained air quality data for places that have never had any. We’re especially proud to capture Konza’s baseline before its growth trajectory is set, a rare chance to build clean air into a city’s design from day one. Working alongside NEMA, we aim to turn this data into a stronger national air quality standard.

Mr. Walter Ouma, IoT Unit Manager, iLabAfrica Research Centre, Strathmore University