3,750 Deaths from Air Pollution in Tehran in 1399
An official from Iran’s Ministry of Health says that in 1399, 3,751 deaths in Tehran were linked to the consequences of air pollution and suspended particles in the air of Iran’s capital.
Abbas Shahsavandi, head of the “Air Health Group” at the Ministry of Health, also said in an interview published by ISNA news agency on Monday, December 21, that according to meteorological forecasts and drought conditions, the concentration of air pollutants in December will increase further.
According to Shahsavandi, the average concentration of suspended particles in Iranian cities last year was approximately 6 times higher than the World Health Organization’s guideline.
Mohammad Sadegh Hasanvand, head of the Air Pollution Research Center at Tehran University, had previously reported in April of this year that 40,000 people die prematurely annually in Iran due to air pollution.
With the gradual decrease in the country’s air temperature from the beginning of the current week, atmospheric inversion and stagnation conditions, following the usual pattern each year, have begun in several major cities of the country.
On Saturday, November 13, the Iran Meteorological Organization issued a “yellow alert” regarding the intensification of air pollution in Tehran, Isfahan, Mashhad, Arak, and Karaj, calling on citizens to avoid unnecessary travel in these areas.
These statistics and warnings are being announced at a time when in December 1399, the pollution index in some Iranian cities, including Tehran and Isfahan, exceeded the red level and in some areas reached “purple level,” meaning unhealthy conditions.
Many experts and even officials attributed the worsening of air pollution in the past winter to the replacement of fuel oil in power plants due to gas shortage.
Source: Radio Farda
