r/johannesburg • u/ForumStalker • 1d ago

Hazy sky and unhealthy air quality levels

Has anyone noticed how hazy the air has been today and yesterday? I stay in Bryanston/Randburg, but it seems to be all over the place.

The air quality index when I check online, is also showing very high air pollution measurements. Does anyone know the source of this haziness and pollution?

...and on that note, any recommendations for air purifiers will be appreciated.

31 Upvotes

96% Upvoted

35 comments sorted by

17

u/JakesGP 1d ago

Legitimately the worst I have ever seen it. I'm unable to see the usual landmarks that are just a few hundred metres away.

7

u/ForumStalker 1d ago

Exactly, and I don't think it's natural causes, like moisture from humidity, because the air is very dry and not a cloud in the sky either. Scary part is that I was in Hartbeespoort yesterday and it was like that there as well.

5

u/carrboneous 1d ago

because the air is very dry and not a cloud in the sky

ie typical highveld winter low pressure, ie the air isn't rising so nothing is going anywhere.

I haven't seen anything particularly hazy, and I don't know if there is or isn't any other source of pollution, but it could be just regular air that's gathered under the high pressure.

7

u/Best-Lingonberry7029 1d ago

Just drove out to Northriding, it's terrible there.

12

u/mechsuit-jalapeno 1d ago

AQI says it's PM2.5 at the highest so we can thank all our lovely coal and manufacturing industries for this. Also winter means more people are burning more things to stay warm. With it being winter the colder polluted air also hangs lower.

3

u/ForumStalker 1d ago

Usually those would be the most common causes, but I saw this white fog-like haze in Hartbeespoort yesterday as well throughout the day time. I'm guessing some industrial pollution, but not sure it's just coal burning or some other chemical pollutant as well.

11

u/wcslater 1d ago

Well Sasol is the largest single point emitter of greenhouse gases on earth, it's crazy

1

u/ShamScience 1d ago

We should probably shut it down, soon.

0

u/rocky99_ 22h ago

Yea sure and then 5500 people are unemployed to just mention one issue

1

u/ShamScience 20h ago

https://mg.co.za/the-green-guardian/2026-02-20-sas-hotspots-for-deadly-air-pollution/

Air pollution kills more people than that just in winter, and just in Johannesburg. About the same number killed in Ekurhuleni.

Jobs that literally kill other people are not good jobs. Make a better plan.

0

u/rocky99_ 19h ago

If you think Sasol is the only contributing factor of air pollution then you a moron. But no point in fighting with people on reddit

1

u/wcslater 18h ago

It's not the only, but for joburg air quality it's by far the biggest contributor.

4

u/tomatom 1d ago

I live up Northcliff Hill and we can see it below us and a definate division between polluted air and clean air above. There's a temperature inversion - cold air pressing down - preventing pollution from cars, fires industry etc from escaping.

4

u/FrozenEternityZA 1d ago

We just got a xiaomi smart air purifier 4 pro this last week. It has been impressive so far. We turn it on when the air is bad and it will be "red" on 50 or 70 and then it drops down over time as it purifies to 15. At that point the bad air smell is gone.

The air was really getting to us. Headaches and sinus pain mostly.

Btw liok up the kya sands burning group if you interested in the possible "why" behind the bad air

7

u/This_Display1919 1d ago

Please report it, more reports more chance of something been done about it.

Recommend Solenco air purifier but even a clicks one can do

4

u/FrozenEternityZA 1d ago

Where do you report this to please?

0

u/Tankjhb 1d ago

joburgconnect@joburg.org.za Or coj twitter.

1

u/BloodSteyn 18h ago

And... what will happen after that?

Will they go door to door and tell the poor people to stop burning coal, wood, parafien and whatnot to stay warm?

1

u/Tankjhb 17h ago

Can't speak for the city. But I can tell you that air quality issues are way down on the list because citizens don't talk about it enough. When the egg smell comes every year around the same time you get news articles and questions coming down from the ministers but it fizzles out as the pressure on them decreases.

Keep up that pressure. Hopefully soon there will be a central complaints register on SAAQIS that I think will form part of national dept KPI.

Fuel combustion in homes is really harmful to people's health and it eventually does cost more. The transition to cleaner fuels and even cheaper electricity for that specific source comes down to resources for that problem but if it is tackled holistically from health, climate, living standards and safety you see a lot more potential funding coming up. The other side of the problem is lack of community involvement and enforcement (solar microgrids face vandalism).

But the most recent problem wasn't only fuel use in homes. This was much bigger fires across the region. Also many solutions to that but also not enough pressure. I can also say that this is not a bit of haze or smoke problem. The pollution has a long term effect on us health wise that many don't realize. Your yearly flu and the deaths from this annually from pneumonia wouldn't be as bad if it were not for the pollution.

1

u/ForumStalker 1d ago

Will do, not sure where to report such things but I'll do some research, and I'll shop around for the air purifier. I'm looking for something that can filter out pm2.5 in particular. Xiaomi seems to make some good ones that do this.

3

u/PrettyRichHun 1d ago

This makes me sad 😔

2

u/dogatemycrocs 1d ago

It's been really bad today.

2

u/fataggressivecheeks 21h ago

Even my laptop weather app was warning about extremely poor air quality. Can actually taste the chemicals in edenvale the last few days. Ugh.

2

u/BloodSteyn 18h ago

"When Cold... the poor burn stuff to stay warm and the well off complain from their heated homes & cars."

  • Someone, somewhere, probably.

It is just a side effect of the 35% unemployment welfare state and struggling economy we find ourselves in.

2

u/Tankjhb 17h ago

Had a quick look and it really is quite regional.

This was yesterday morning (red dots are active fires for that day).

https://go.nasa.gov/4al4cUV

Around midday

https://go.nasa.gov/3RG0mzt

This is today morning 1 June 2026 (fire data will probably be in tomorrow only). Circulation seems common for this season and there's also a lot around Skukuza.

https://go.nasa.gov/4fSvW6U

1

u/tomatom 16h ago

Today feels a lot worse.

2

u/Mashy_za 17h ago

It's the burning of illegal dumps in multiple areas. You know that metallic or sharp burning smell you sometimes notice in the air? That's it. There's a community sponsored initiative trying to help reduce the burning. I personally contribute to it, but unfortunately it seems we have to fight this one on our own. STOP the Burning in Kya Sand!

1

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1

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1

u/Patient-Peanut-3797 16h ago

Winter in the highveld always has this. People who took geography as a subject will know why , but the high pressure air cell keeps a lid on the air and the pollution accumulates.