Making Air Pollution Visible

Air pollution is often described in numbers — PM2.5 levels, emission rates, regulatory limits. But what happens when the evidence is not a chart, but a photograph?

In this episode of Clean Air Report Ghana, host Michael Asharley explores how images are being used to document and expose air pollution across Ghana. His guests are veteran photojournalist David Andoh, who has spent more than 15 years capturing the country’s environmental realities, and rising photographer Judy Yayra Avanu, who is beginning to tell those stories through her own lens.

From open burning and traffic fumes to food vendors working under layers of dust, the episode examines how photography turns invisible pollution into visible proof. It also confronts the challenges of documenting environmental harm in public spaces, and asks whether powerful images can move authorities from awareness to action.

Clean Air Report Ghana is a collaboration between New Narratives and leading Ghanaian newsrooms. Funding is provided by the Clean Air Fund which had no say in the reporting.