Air pollution is a major environmental and public health issue in Nigeria, yet substantial gaps persist in data collection, analysis, and policy implementation. This editorial highlights emerging trends and ongoing challenges in air quality research throughout Nigeria, aiming to stimulate dialogue on future directions and policy implications, and focusing on infrastructural deficits and public health implications. Rapid industrialisation and urbanisation have intensified emissions from vehicles, industries, and unregulated sources, compounding health risks. The study synthesises 35 years of sampling campaigns across diverse receptor sites, highlighting the evolution of pollutant monitoring and analytical methods. While some studies have contributed to policy development, most are hindered by obsolete equipment, limited sampling duration, and inadequate analytical capacity. As a result, many pollution episodes and their health impacts remain underreported, especially in high-risk communities. The editorial underscores the urgent need for multidisciplinary, long-term monitoring using modern technologies and comprehensive data analysis to guide effective interventions. Bridging current gaps demands strategic investment, coordinated research, and inclusive policies to generate reliable data, protect vulnerable populations, and support public health planning. Graphical Abstract Graphical Abstract Descriptions: This graphical abstract distills the essential themes of the editorial, offering a visual synthesis of Nigeria’s air pollution landscape, its infrastructural limitations, and the associated public health implications. Designed to support the article’s integrative and evaluative goals, the graphic conveys a conceptual map rather than experimental results. It visually traces the interlinkages between pollution sources (e.g., vehicular traffic, industrial activity, unregulated emissions), data gaps (e.g., outdated equipment, insufficient coverage), and adverse health outcomes (respiratory, cardiovascular, and psychological conditions), thereby emphasising the editorial's core argument: that bridging these gaps requires multidisciplinary research and infrastructural investment. Rather than presenting new data, the visual framework serves to summarise decades of fragmented research and highlight areas where knowledge synthesis and policy reform are urgently needed. Flowcharts, arrows, and icons will depict relationships among emission sources, environmental contamination, monitoring challenges, and population health effects. The visual design employs a professional, high-contrast colour palette and simple, readable fonts to enhance clarity and accessibility. Accompanying labels and captions underscore key findings, knowledge gaps, and recommendations derived from the reviewed literature. This graphical abstract ultimately functions as a heuristic tool, guiding readers through the structure of the editorial and drawing attention to critical intersections between science, infrastructure, and public health policy in the Nigerian context.

Bridging data gaps in Nigerian air pollution: coverage, infrastructural challenges, and public health implications

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发表日期：

2025年9月1日

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Felix S. Olise

摘要

Air pollution is a major environmental and public health issue in Nigeria, yet substantial gaps persist in data collection, analysis, and policy implementation. This editorial highlights emerging trends and ongoing challenges in air quality research throughout Nigeria, aiming to stimulate dialogue on future directions and policy implications, and focusing on infrastructural deficits and public health implications. Rapid industrialisation and urbanisation have intensified emissions from vehicles, industries, and unregulated sources, compounding health risks. The study synthesises 35 years of sampling campaigns across diverse receptor sites, highlighting the evolution of pollutant monitoring and analytical methods. While some studies have contributed to policy development, most are hindered by obsolete equipment, limited sampling duration, and inadequate analytical capacity. As a result, many pollution episodes and their health impacts remain underreported, especially in high-risk communities. The editorial underscores the urgent need for multidisciplinary, long-term monitoring using modern technologies and comprehensive data analysis to guide effective interventions. Bridging current gaps demands strategic investment, coordinated research, and inclusive policies to generate reliable data, protect vulnerable populations, and support public health planning.

Graphical Abstract

Graphical Abstract Descriptions: This graphical abstract distills the essential themes of the editorial, offering a visual synthesis of Nigeria’s air pollution landscape, its infrastructural limitations, and the associated public health implications. Designed to support the article’s integrative and evaluative goals, the graphic conveys a conceptual map rather than experimental results. It visually traces the interlinkages between pollution sources (e.g., vehicular traffic, industrial activity, unregulated emissions), data gaps (e.g., outdated equipment, insufficient coverage), and adverse health outcomes (respiratory, cardiovascular, and psychological conditions), thereby emphasising the editorial's core argument: that bridging these gaps requires multidisciplinary research and infrastructural investment. Rather than presenting new data, the visual framework serves to summarise decades of fragmented research and highlight areas where knowledge synthesis and policy reform are urgently needed. Flowcharts, arrows, and icons will depict relationships among emission sources, environmental contamination, monitoring challenges, and population health effects. The visual design employs a professional, high-contrast colour palette and simple, readable fonts to enhance clarity and accessibility. Accompanying labels and captions underscore key findings, knowledge gaps, and recommendations derived from the reviewed literature. This graphical abstract ultimately functions as a heuristic tool, guiding readers through the structure of the editorial and drawing attention to critical intersections between science, infrastructure, and public health policy in the Nigerian context.