Post #635

🇿🇦 South Africa: Residents in Mpumalanga say coal industry pollution is making them ill and overwhelming local clinics. 🌐 A report published in Health‑e report documents families in eMbalenhle and other towns blaming chronic respiratory and skin diseases on nearby coal mines and power stations. Researchers link more than 21,000 deaths in 2022 to coal‑related air pollution and estimate an annual health bill of $52bn. 💬We are sick; our children have chest infections, laments a resident. 🔸 The history is not new — Mpumalanga is South Africa's coal heart. It supplies over 80% of the country’s coal, concentrating emissions next to poor townships and forcing people into repeated hospital visits. 🔸 On the other hand. such reports tend to overlook the fact that coal is not only the source of sulphur dioxide and fine particulate pollution, but it is also the only source of stable income for many residents, which is as critical as power generation itself in the country with +30% unemployment rates. #News ✈️Stay informed - @devilsbelow