Due to air pollution, offices and educational centers in several Iranian provinces were closed on June 23.
Following the intensification of air pollution and increased dust concentration in some provinces of Iran, schools, government offices, and sports centers in some provinces were declared closed on June 20.
According to news agency reports in Iran on Monday, June 2, the head of the National Center for Forecasting and Managing Weather Hazards said that with the increase in dust concentration in the western half of the country, "horizontal visibility in some cities such as Abadan has reached 100 meters" and Tehran will also "be covered in dust in the coming hours."
According to provincial authorities in the provinces of Tehran, Khuzestan, Alborz, Kermanshah, and Kurdistan, government offices and educational centers were closed on Tuesday, June 23, due to air pollution and increased dust.
End-of-year exams in these provinces have been postponed to a later date to be announced.
Shahriar Askari, Public Relations Director of the Khuzestan Environmental Protection Department, also announced an increase in dust concentration in some cities in the province, saying that dust concentration in Abadan has reached more than 42 times, in Azadegan Plain more than 30 times, in Shadegan more than 14 times, and in Hamidieh more than 13 times the permissible limit.
According to him, during this period, dust concentrations in the cities of Ahvaz, Andimeshk, Izeh, Bandar "Imam", Susa, and Shushtar were also reported to be "exceeding the permissible limit".
In Ilam Province, air pollution also led to the closure of sports clubs on Tuesday.
Intensification of air pollution has also been reported in the provinces of Isfahan and Zanjan.
The intensification of dust storms in recent weeks in many cities in Iran has caused a threefold increase in public visits to medical centers.
Pollution kills 9 million people worldwide each year, a major review has found. Toxic air, polluted water and soil are a threat to human and planetary health, and threaten the sustainability of modern societies, the study says.
Source: Voice of America
