Tehran’s Air Remains Unhealthy; Sports Activities Banned and Schools Go Remote
The continued severe air pollution in Tehran has led to schools being ordered to operate remotely for the next three days, while all individual and group sports activities in Tehran have been banned.
These decisions were made after the Meteorological Organization announced that air quality in Tehran Province remains unhealthy for all groups and this condition will persist at least until Thursday of the current week.
The average concentration of air pollutants in Tehran on Wednesday, December 1st, stands at 148, with 21 air quality monitoring stations showing red status, and air quality has exceeded the 150 threshold.
Tehran’s Deputy Governor announced that due to the intensification of air pollution on Wednesday, it was decided that all educational centers would operate remotely for Wednesday and Thursday, individual and group sports activities would be banned, and mothers who are employees with children would be granted leave.
According to Abed Maleki, temporary closure of industrial units and factories, centers contributing to air pollution intensification, prohibition of liquid fuel use in power plants and industries adjacent to major cities, and remote operation of university classes are among other decisions made to control Tehran’s air pollution.
The latest report from the international city air quality assessment and ranking platform on December 9th announced that Tehran, with an air quality index of 157, ranks fourth among the 10 most polluted cities in the world.
The intensification of air pollution in recent years, particularly during cold months, has become one of Iran’s environmental challenges.
The head of Tehran University’s air pollution research center announced last spring that annually 40,000 people in Iran experience premature death due to air pollution.
Many experts and even officials have attributed the crisis of air pollution at that time to the use of fuel oil in power plants.
Source: Radio Farda
