For 14 years, I took the same route to school from the east to Port-of-Spain. On Beetham Highway, mummy would often close the car windows due to the unpleasant smell. I thought she simply didn’t like the odour, but eventually, I understood that wasn’t all. The area was regularly affected by polluted air from burning garbage, exposing the community—and those passing through—to poor air quality.
When thinking of polluted air, we may picture Beijing’s or New Delhi’s hazy skies. T&T is different, we think. But is it? Healthy adults take approximately 12–20 breaths every minute, yet many pollutants entering our respiratory systems are invisible. We can choose the food and water we consume, but we cannot choose not to breathe.
Blue skies aren’t enough
Today we observe the International Day of Clean Air for blue skies; however, blue skies don’t necessarily indicate clean air. As part of a CAPE school project, I investigated the air around my school, (St Joseph’s Convent, Port-of-Spain), using low-cost air quality monitors—devices little bigger than my fist.
Suddenly, something invisible became measurable. I learnt about PM10 and PM2.5—tiny particles measuring ten micrometres or less and 2.5 micrometres or less respectively.
PM10 can irritate the respiratory system, aggravating asthma and chronic lung disease, while the smaller PM2.5 can penetrate deep into the lungs, enter the bloodstream, and affect the body’s organs.
How safe is our air?
The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends a maximum annual average PM2.5 concentration of 5 micrograms per cubic metre.
A WHO environmental health scorecard estimated T&T’s annual average at approximately ten microgrammes per cubic metre—twice the recommended guideline.
Our school monitoring led to interesting observations.
Particulate levels varied with location and time. Measurements near plants were lower, while those near the pavement increased during child pick-up and drop-off.
Traffic flow, idling vehicles and vehicle type mattered as certain fuels, eg diesel, produce more air pollutants and greenhouse gas emissions than others.
The lesson was simple: What happens around us affects the air we breathe.
What causes our pollution?
Saharan dust, blown from Africa across the Atlantic, which increases annually due to climate change-induced desertification, is a familiar pollutant. But we cannot blame all our air quality problems on the Sahara.
Motor-vehicle emissions, open burning, industrial activity, fossil fuel use, construction dust and landfill fires all contribute, releasing tiny particles into the atmosphere, as well as harmful gases like carbon monoxide, and carbon dioxide, the main pollutant driving climate change.
The distinction is important: we cannot prevent Saharan dust from reaching T&T, but we can reduce the pollution we generate.
Who’s Most at Risk?
Air pollution affects everyone, but some are more vulnerable: children, older adults, pregnant women, outdoor workers and people with asthma, chronic lung disease, or cardiovascular disease.
Where we live also matters. Communities near highways, industrial facilities, or areas where frequent burning occurs experience greater exposure.
Fewer financial resources may lead to difficulty relocating, installing air filtration, or protecting themselves when air quality deteriorates.
In a landmark 2020 case, a 9-year-old girl, Ella Kissi-Debrah from London, was deemed to have died from asthma worsened by air pollution from busy streets where she lived.
Clean air is, therefore, an environmental, health, and equity issue.
Air pollution and
climate change
The 2026 International Day of Clean Air for blue skies highlights benefits of tackling air pollution and climate change together. Burning fossil fuels for transportation, electricity and industry contributes to greenhouse gas emissions and climate change, produces health-harming pollutants, and worsens weather phenomena.
he ‘super El Niño’ the world is currently experiencing is a frightening example of climate change’s effects. Reducing emissions, therefore, has double benefits: healthier people today and a more stable climate tomorrow.
For a small island developing state already facing extreme heat, flooding and changing weather patterns, cleaner air is not a luxury, but an environmental, health, and development imperative.
Steps towards cleaner air
• Reduce pollution. Prevent open burning and avoidable emissions. Expand cleaner energy and efficient public transportation.
• Identify pollution sources. Track pollution from Saharan dust, traffic, industry, and fires to properly target interventions.
• Improve air quality monitoring, particularly in communities near major industrial and transportation hubs. Low-cost monitors can complement regulatory monitoring and encourage community participation.
• Develop a national air quality health alert system. When the Air Quality Index becomes unhealthy, citizens need advice to protect themselves and vulnerable family members, eg, wearing a well-fitted mask.
• Make clean air everyone’s business. Government, industry, schools, communities, health professionals and individuals all have roles.
Today, look beyond blue skies and ask: Is the air beneath those skies safe to breathe?
Understanding air pollution composition, measuring it and acting can help build a healthier, more resilient T&T.
Young or old, rich or poor, healthy or living with disease, one truth unites us: Every breath matters.
The foregoing is a weekly column by EarthMedic and EarthNurse NGO to help readers understand and address the climate and health crisis.
