Associate Professor Rebecca Garland was part of a team who recently published an article on how load shedding affects air quality in South Africa. Air pollution increases when power stations are down due to the use of petrol and diesel generators, and the use of wood, coal, and paraffin to meet energy needs. This shift to local energy sources can lead to short-term peaks in ambient pollution. It is very well established  that  air  pollution  leads  to  thousands  of  premature  deaths  in  South  Africa  a  year. Poorly maintained  coal-fired  power  stations are running   with   emissions   above   the   licence  limits which also contribute to ambient pollution.

This news post is derived from the South Africa’s electricity disaster is an air quality disaster, too article here